


Famiglia Perduta

by MythicRhyvon



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NCIS
Genre: Agent Afloat, Alternate Universe, BAMF Kono Kalakaua, BAMF Tony DiNozzo, Bottom Tony DiNozzo, Canon-Typical Violence, Case Fic, Character Study, Competent Tony DiNozzo, Crimes & Criminals, Criminal Mind Games, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Death games, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hawaii Five-0 Season 4 (end), Hurt Tony, Hurt Tony DiNozzo, Italian Mafia, M/M, Minor Character Death, NCIS Season 6, Non-Canonical Character Death, Old hurts, Oral Sex, Organized Crime, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Poorly translated Italian, Rare Pairings, Romance, Slow Burn, Tony Angst, Tony-centric, Top Steve McGarrett, Undercover Missions, Undercover Tony DiNozzo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-04-06 10:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 78,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14055054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MythicRhyvon/pseuds/MythicRhyvon
Summary: Three months into Tony DiNozzo's four month stint as unwilling Agent Afloat, the most he has to worry about is confiscating alcohol from unruly sailors, breaking up friendly games of poker, and wondering when he might get off the god-forsaken hell he'd found himself banished to after Director Shepard's unfortunate death on his watch. Unknown to him, across a wide swatch of ocean and nestled on the shores of Oahu, a ghost from his past has resurfaced and is leaving behind a trail of bodies that Five-O can't seem to make heads or tails of. When the team finally catches a break, Special Agent DiNozzo seems like the obvious person turn to for answers.





	1. Chapter 1

If you picked a hundred random beach goers and asked them to describe the day, ninety-nine of them would likely respond with some variation of ‘perfection’ or ‘paradise.’ And to them, surrounded by soft white sand and a view of sparkling waves rolling beneath the almost abnormally blue sky above, with just enough of a breeze blowing to take the edge off the heat, and the phenomenon known as ‘island time’ in full effect, it did appear pretty close to perfect.

To those who lived and worked on the island it was simply another Saturday, and if you’d asked them the same question, you’d get a much greater variety of responses. The Five-O task force, for example, had already experienced a long and stressful day before lunchtime even rolled around, and relaxing on the beach was the furthest thing from their minds.

Three months before, a known member of the Samoa gang was found dead, body clearly having been beaten and official cause of death listed as ‘repeat blunt force trauma to the head resulting in a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.’ Despite the raw brutality of the scene, they’d found no trace evidence on the body or at the scene, and a trail so far beyond cold it was like it never existed in the first place.

Since that first body, ten more had been discovered and associated with the case. Every new body brought the bittersweet surge of hope that they might finally get a break, might find some bit of evidence that could give them some idea what was going on. The bodies were all known members of various fractions of organized crime on their watchlist, but never the same one twice and every time that thought they might be closing in on a pattern, another body or two was discovered and they had to start over again.  It was equal parts disbelief and awe that no one seemed to want to take credit for some of the honestly impressive kills that had occurred- both in terms of complexity and in the boldness of some of their targets’ executions.

The most creative so far had been the Yakuza enforcer getting strangled with the wires from his own home security system, personal firearm still tucked away untouched in its holster, and then sat at the dining table to greet his wife when she returned home from her biweekly visit to the hairdresser. Tensions were rising quickly between the various groups and distrust seemed to be growing just as quickly. They still hadn’t found a single shred of evidence, all of the bodies appearing to be dumps or were made from a distance, and they were frustratingly still as clueless as they’d been after the first body was discovered.

They’d gotten a call just after two in the morning from HPD informing them two more bodies had discovered outside of an underground strip club called ‘Conch,’ after multiple reports of gunfire flooded 911 from the surrounding area. The already intense pressure to solve the case rose sharply when they arrived not to find dead gang members or known criminals as they’d come to assume, but the bodies of two kids who couldn’t have been much older than twenty, and a third young man sitting on the back of an ambulance, oxygen masked clutched to his face with a stark white hand and a glazed look in his eye that spoke of shock. An EMT stood before him seemingly unnoticed checking his vitals.

It was the first time a civilian was killed by this budding mob war, and it sent a whole new type of pain through all of them when they’d pieced together the details. As it turned out, twenty-two year old Nicholas Jeffers and 21-year old’s Zachery Thurston and Carl Morell had been walking the groom-to-be back to their hotel after a stag night at a nearby dance club when witnesses say two small groups involved in an argument exited Conch into a back alley. With three men on one side and two on the other, the argument was said to escalate until weapons were drawn suddenly with both sides opening fire almost immediately.

Jeffers and Morell were announced dead on arrival, while Thurston had been taken to emergent surgery and then the ICU in critical condition. It was still unclear if he’d pull through. The boy sitting in the back of the ambulance was the groom-to-be, Samuel Adams, and he was the only one of the group to survive the ordeal unscathed, though he was definitely traumatized. Three other young men came upon the scene a brief time after Five-O arrived, having used the ‘Find my Friend’ app to locate their missing group members when they didn’t arrive back at the hotel as previously agreed upon, and when none of them responded to texts or calls.

As unplanned as the altercation seemed to have been, they finally got a stroke of luck and discovered a blood sample splattered against a cement wall near where the fire fight actually broke out. Fong was able to match the sample to a known member of the Italian Mafia, a man named Nicholai Giuseppe. Considering the Italian Mob had been fairly non-existent on the island previously, it gave them hope that they might finally be onto something.

Beyond the new designation being entered onto the scene, having a name gave them a starting point to look for known associates and associations. It seemed clear that their blood donor wasn’t capable of pulling off the technical difficulty they’d seen so far, but that didn’t mean his companion wasn’t the skill behind the machine.

Nearing four in the evening, the Task Force reconvened over the table top computer to compare individual findings and brainstorm their plan for moving forward. None of their usual contacts on the island seemed to have any information on the newest chess pieces, but everyone seemed to be on edge and keeping tight to their own territory.   

Steve wished he could simply send a new player in undercover to sleuth things out under a mask of anonymity, beginning to suspect it might be the only way to make any true headway. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be an option. It was a challenge they’d faced before- the criminal population knowing who the cops were, no matter how green or unknown they may have been, caught as they were within the constraints of living on an island of such limited space. It was a familiar issue, but one that never became less frustrating.

He’d shared his frustration with the governor earlier that day, but the sight of the man striding suddenly into the room was still unexpected and odd enough to draw the teams’ undivided attention. “Officer Kalakaua,” Denning began immediately, voice deep and directly to the point. Kono straightened further at his severe tone, preparing to carry out the request she could see coming, even if she didn’t yet know what it was. “You will be receiving a secure transmission from the USS Seahawk in approximately five minutes from NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I would like you to pull it up on the plasma screen as soon as it comes through.”

“Governor?” Steve spoke up, tone questioning.

“I reached out to some of my contacts. Agent DiNozzo is currently serving as Agent Afloat for NCIS, but some years ago he worked for the Baltimore Police Department. Of his two years with them, nearly a year of it was spent undercover in the Baltimore fraction of the Italian Mafia. He was almost single-handedly responsible for the arrests and incarcerations of forty-two of its members, including every boss, underboss, and consiglieri in the city. His reports mention our unsub directly a number of times and I am positive he can give us some insight into this case.” The man informed his brusquely, though the slightest hint of respect could be heard edging into his tone.

Steve crossed his arms, studying his boss. “Do you know Agent DiNozzo?” He questioned, wondering at the easy use of the tone he’d rarely heard from the man.

“Not personally, but I know of him. I was able to pull some stings and get you face to face with him- or as close to it as you can be in this case. Hopefully he’ll be the break you need to get these people off our streets before any more blood is spilled.”

“Has he been given any information?”

“Only that his knowledge of an old assignment is needed.”

“Sir, the call is coming through.” Kono spoke up softly, fingers automatically moving to fulfill her pervious instructions without further prompting. The five turned their attention to the mounted plasma screen as live video began filling the previously dark space.

A handsome man appeared before them, his dark hair as kissed by the sun as his tanned flesh was, face bearing tired hazel eyes and a scattering of lines just beginning to linger across his forehead- neither of which served to take away from his handsomeness. He wore a simple dark grey button up, with the top two buttons open and the faintest hint of chest hair visible in the gap left. An assortment of equipment was visible behind him, numerous screens lit seemingly randomly across the smooth metal backdrop, countless buttons, knobs and switches filling the remaining space and looking like a confusing mess to three out of five of the people watching from Hawaii.

Despite the crystal clear image the plasma screen was capable of, the video quality was uneven and their view subject to bouts of static lines cutting across the image “Ah, Agent DiNozzo. Thank you for being prompt.” The Governor greeted politely, turning to face the screen more fully with his hands folded before him.

“The navy is always prompt.” The man replied with a practiced, easy smile, a faint hint of _something else_ just below the surface but well-hidden to the casual observer. “I was told you wanted to speak with me. How can I help you, Governor Denning?”

“Before we get started, let me introduce my companions. This is Commander Steve McGarrett, Detectives Danny Williams and Chin Ho Kelly, and Officer Kono Kalakaua. They make up the Five-O Task Force here in Oahu.” The agent nodded politely and offered his own brief greeting to them as a whole before turning his attention back to the Governor.

“Approximately three months ago…” Agent DiNozzo listened intently as the Governor spoke, filling him on what little they knew and nodding at certain points in the story and silently compiling a list of questions he would need to ask when he was able.  

He settled further back into his seat and waited until the older man finished his succinct summary.

“I remember Nicholai. He definitely wasn’t boss material, but he was slick enough to always be in the right place at the right time. His cousin though, Roberto Morici, was one of the highest ranking members to survive the collapse of the family without seeing a cell. If Nicholai’s on the island, I guarantee Roberto is too, and he’s the one you need to worry about out of the two of them. He has the intelligence and tenacity to be a real player, and the suave to ensure a whole lot of loyalty. It’s how he escaped handcuffs, actually. Every crime we threw at him was claimed by someone else. We had more confessions than prisoners that day.” He drawled sardonically.

Steve stepped forward then, Denning gesturing him to speak up. DiNozzo refocused his attention easily and answered the questions posed to him as informatively and concisely as possible.  Kono and Chin had both begun typing in the background, attempting to chase down leads as quickly as they were being offered as possibilities, while the other three focused their full attention on the screen.

They’d been talking for nearly ten minutes when Steve asked a question that drew surprised looks from every one of his team members. “You seem to know these guys pretty well. If this were your case, how would _you_ proceed?” Their commander wasn’t known for being open to suggestion, after all, but Steve found himself honestly wanting to know the answer, and that honesty shone through.

The agent looked at him considering. He opened his mouth to respond when a loud rumble roared suddenly to life and filled the speakers. A touch of long suffering annoyance peaking though carefully shuddered eyes as the agent waited for the noise to pass. He smiled tightly a couple of seconds later when quiet once again settled and then responded. “You haven’t been able to catch any other leads? Not even superficial?” He questioned.

“Nothing that’s stuck. We’ve hit a lot of dead ends.”

“And you’ve got thirteen bodies? How many of those were within the last month?”

“Eight.” The Commander replied without needing to glance at the file. “Four of those were within the last week. The two last night were the first civilian casualties, and that number might still rise to three depending on how their friend recovers over the next few days.”

The agent frowned at the relatively rapid rate of escalation. “From what you’ve told me, it sounds like they might be there to clear the way for a higher ranking Mafioso to come in. It would explain why the victims are so diverse- they were setting out to warn off their future competition while carving out a niche of their own. There are a few other possibilities, of course,” He continued, lines deepening further across his brow. “but those are even more concerning.” The man looked off to the side of the screen for a brief moment before looking back at them. “You said you want to send someone in, but that you don’t have any options?” Steve nodded silently. “I was able to keep my cover intact when the syndicate broke up, just in case they ever needed to send me back in. With how fast and how hard it all went down, things got pretty chaotic. We got our primary targets, but more secondary targets got away then we would have liked. My personas own exit went unnoticed alongside all the others.”

The Governor took back over the conversation then. “What exactly are you offering, Agent DiNozzo?”

The agent on the screen glanced down at his watch and then off screen once again before he responded. “I can hop a bird and be in Hawaii in less than three hours. If you’ll accept my assistance, I’d like offer it however I can.” He paused, his face betraying the internal debate he was having.

Seated as comfortably as he could manage back aboard the naval vessel, Tony considered leaving off there and accepting whatever decision the Governor may come to deciding his role in the case. In all honesty, he realized that hesitation may have stemmed from his own, deeply buried, reluctance to dive back into the world he’d once become so entrenched in, so attached to, that it felt like an extension of himself.. Or what true bit of himself he allowed to surface during that time.  

Italians were renown for their family values and close knit groups, and the stereotype more than carried over to the darker side of their society.  Tony wouldn’t have been as undeniably successful as he’d been if he hadn’t forged some semblance of those bonds in truth. As someone who’d never really known what family could be like, the first time he truly felt hatred for himself occurred silently as he was observed observing the blank countenance of the man who’d so readily named him ‘figlio, and whom Tony felt more loyalty and love towards to this day than he could ever even attempt to muster towards his own father at any point of his life.

Realizing his thoughts were getting away from him at a time that was so beyond inappropriate, Tony forced himself to bury his own unexpected rush of emotion and press onward with his own hard earned stoicism blanketing his expression.  “All respect meant, Governor,” He finally continued, deciding to go with blunt honesty and hope for the best. The unexpected news coming from the unexpected phone call had put him too much on edge for any type of subtlety to read as true, and so why bother dancing through the farce of it when he could just skip it completely? “I’ve heard of your taskforce. You’re definitely making waves through law enforcement circles, if nothing else, and I admit that the results on paper are impressive.” He did pause slightly, tilting his head as he considered his exact wording. He was expecting to work with these people, after all.

“But?” Governor Denning pressed after a moment, one brow raised pointedly as he waited.

He looked away from the politician and scanned over the task force once more, starting with the young woman and ending with the Commander, where his eyes lingered as he continued. “But, they’re not known for their light touch or subtlety. The men you’re looking for? I guarantee they’re already a mile ahead of you. They can predict your next step before you’ve decided what it’s going to be, they’re that good. You might get lucky and they might get sloppy again, but I doubt it’ll happen. These guys have always been smart, and they’ve had a decade to get smarter since I’ve known them. They’re not known for making mistakes. You want to take them down before any more blood stains your streets? Then you need my help, and getting me on screen like this isn’t an easy feat, and I give you one more pass before the powers-that-be shut it down.” He finished with a quiet confidence in his words and in himself that many tried to fake but few were truly able to achieve as he crossed his arms over his chest and _watched_.

A multitude of looks were exchanged and silent conversations held, but they didn’t leave him waiting as long as he thought they might. “You make a strong case for yourself, Agent DiNozzo. Let us know your ETA and we’ll have a car waiting to pick you up.” The easy acceptance and offer boosted the islanders up a few points in his eyes; from the scuttlebutt he’d heard, this team had grown used to the loose reins they had, and that they were all too happy to utilize power plays to exhibit force on those who they came up against. Perhaps it came from working under Gibbs for so long- Gibbs who shunned interagency cooperation in much the same manner he shunned his ex-wives, but he wasn’t used to being welcomed so readily into someone else’s jurisdiction. Rather, he’d been half expecting to have to try and talk himself onto the case.

The governor excused himself a few moments later, with a promise to meet him in person on the island the next day. Tony stayed on with the Five-O team while they hashed out a few more details and exchanged contact information before they too said their temporary goodbye’s and disconnected. Tony glanced down at his watch one more time, mind racing.

 He had a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it.

~*~

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Two hours and forty-five minutes after disconnecting, Tony stepped off the small aircraft he’d caught a ride on into the balmy Hawaiian evening. The officer he’d met earlier that day was standing next to a car on the far side of the lot, and so he moved towards her with his backpack slung across one shoulder, straps of his holster worn uncovered over the top of his button up, dark glasses shielding his eyes from the glare of the slowly descending summer sun and gleaming badge clipped to the belt of his dark-wash Armani jeans.

“Officer Kalakaua,” He greeted her once he was close enough, hoping he’d pronounced her name correctly as the syllables rolled unfamiliarly over his tongue.  “thank you for meeting me.”

“Thank you for coming.” She replied in kind, accepting his firm handshake easily and then gesturing to her car. “We have a room setup for you at a nearby hotel. If you’d like, I can take you there to get settled for the night and we can start in the morning? I know it’s getting late.” She offered freely, glancing down at the clock on her dash.

“Has your team retired for the night?” He inquired.

“Ah, no actually. They’re still at HQ, and I’ll be rejoining them after I’ve dropped you off.”

“If it’s okay, I’d really rather get started tonight?” Sitting alone in a hotel room stewing over the situation all night would hardly do him any favors- he’d much rather be actively working on the situation than stressing over it from afar.

“Oh! Of course!” She flipped on her indicator and moved over a lane, glancing at her passenger from the corner of her eye as she did so. “Steve will be happy to see you. Danny had to convince him you might not want to jump in as soon as you land.” She confided with a friendly smile.

Tony smiled back, showing a flash of even white teeth. “It’s okay, I can be the same way with a frustrating case. I won’t hold his impatience against him.”

“And I’ll hold you to that.” She vowed, drawing another quick grin. Tony settled back into the seat of the small car feeling more at ease, his petite chauffeur chattering away easily as they realized their sense of humor ran similar, and the ride seemed to pass by quickly despite how tightly wound he’d been when he first stepped down onto solid ground.

The Palace, as Kono called their headquarters, was a stunning building. For a brief moment he wondered what it might be like to walk into this for work every morning, sun shining brightly and perfect weather for most of the year. It sounded wonderful compared to the dull bleakness of the navy yard back in DC, and even more so compared to the tiny quarters he’d left aboard his floating prison. He shook the thought off, knowing he was bitter about his assignment but reminding himself it was temporary and that he didn’t  _really_  want to leave NCIS. At least not yet.

She lead him up through the deserted building until they reached the high tech room he’d seen when he’d spoken to them earlier on. The commander was seated at a desk alone in an office made of glass, while the other two males on the team stood together over the large computer table talking quietly.

All three men noticed their entrance and moved closer to the duo. Tony pulled his sunglasses off now that he was indoors and tucked them into the collar of his grey shirt. He plastered a welcoming expression on his face and moved to greet the rest of the team in person for the first time.

“He wanted to get started right away.” Kono spoke up once the reintroductions were out of the way, and Tony had to bite back a more honest smirk at the triumphant look the Commander sent the shorter blond detective, drawing an eye roll in return. He glanced over at the only woman, who wiggled her brow at him in shared amusement. Obviously used to his teammates antics, Chin-Ho ignored the familiar exchange and caught the more interesting one between his cousin and the newcomer.

“You can put your backpack in my office for now if you’d like?” Kono offered, gesturing to one of the glass doors. Tony accepted the offer graciously and swept across the floor with long nimble strides. He knew, logically, that the Aircraft Carrier he’d left behind was so massive it was practically like walking on solid ground anyway, despite it being a ship floating out in the middle of the sea, but his brain was still convinced it could tell the difference and so he was always hyperaware of his footfalls for a brief period of time when switching between one or the other.

As soon as he returned to the group, the five of them began working in earnest. Tony gave them a more in depth rundown of the two cousins, explaining some of their quirks and enlightening the team on the more intricate and lesser-known workings of the mafia. Danny was the most familiar with it out of all of them, having to worked on similar cases back in New Jersey, if not to the extent that Tony had been exposed, and so was able to offer some insights of his own.

Perhaps more importantly, they were able to discover where the newcomers had established their base of operations. With Tony’s knowledge, they searched for all business sold on the island three months prior. Of the list they’d gotten in return, only one stood out. A former Jazz bar who’d steadily been declining and was close to going out of business sold suddenly, though it hadn’t actually been put up for sale.

The new owner paid $400,000 in cash and the sale had been finalized within the day. Since then, the property had remained listed as under renovation and thus closed until further notice. Despite the claim, few construction vehicles were seen coming or going from the area and the small parking area in the back of the building always seemed to hold a rotating handful of vehicles coming and going, and visitors who only ever entered through the side door.

After reviewing the traffic camera footage from the street beside the building, Tony was able to identify both cousins and three familiar underlings. There were a handful more who were unfamiliar to him, but that didn’t bother him as much knowing there were a few present who would remember him and who he could hopefully still exhibit his influence over if need be.

Despite the ease in which they discovered the location, Tony immediately refused the suggestion they move in the next day. “No, not tomorrow. I need until Monday.” He stated firmly.

The four paused, three of them glancing at their commander while the man in question stared down the agent across from him. “Why Monday?” The man questioned, muscular arms crossed over his t-shirt covered chest, impatient to move forward after so much time spent spinning their wheels.

“I won’t be ready by tomorrow.” Tony responded, resisting the urge to cross his own arms in turn. Pulling this off was going to be tricky enough, he refused to be rushed into making a mistake because he didn’t take the time to ensure things would go smoothly.

A brow raised challengingly. “Why not?”

Hazel eyes narrowed back, annoyance surging. Did he really need to spell it out. “You’ve never gone undercover before, have you?” He asked instead. “Fully undercover, I mean. For an extended period of time.”

“No.” The commander admitted.

“Thought not. We move on Monday. You’ll see why I need the time soon.”

McGarrett continued to study him, clearly unsatisfied with the delay. “You do realize what we risk by waiting another day?”

Tony bit back a scowl, but it came through in his tone regardless. “You realize what we risk by moving in too soon and being caught unprepared? You might be willing to risk my life, Commander, but you’ll have to pardon me for being a bit more cautious.” 

Realizing there was no good way to dispute that comment, the man’s frown deepened. “Fine. We move on Monday.” He acquiesced grudgingly.

“ _Appreciated_.” The agent glanced down at the Seamaster on his wrist, and then up at the clock on the wall that was a few hours behind. “I won’t be able to make the calls I need to for a few hours yet. If you don’t mind, I think I will retire to my hotel for the rest of the night.”

“That’s fine, we could all use some rest.” The commander agreed.

“What time do you come in?” Tony questioned, beginning to move towards his backpack.

“I’ll be here by six.”

“Great, I’ll see you then.”

“Do you need a ride to your hotel?” Kono spoke up as everyone began to disperse.

Tony smiled at her, looking infinitely more tired than he had just a couple hour prior. “You don’t need to go out of your way, I can call a cab.”

“It’s actually on my way,” She offered lightly.

Tony laughed quietly as they began moving out of the building. “In that case, a ride would be great. Thank you.”

“Noʻu ka hauʻoli.” She replied, drawing a befuddled look from her companion. She laughed and repeated in English. “It means ‘you’re welcome,’ brah.”

~*~

After a restless night, Tony arrived back at Five-O headquarters full of nervous energy. He left his hotel early, deciding to walk to HQ to try and burn some of it off, but simply ended up arriving at quarter to six anyway. Luckily, the commander seemed to have the same restlessness because he was already in the office, short hair still gleaming damply from his recent shower as he submerged himself in reading a file alone in the stillness of the morning.

He passed through the space seemingly unnoticed, but when he knocked lightly on the glass door, the commander didn’t seem surprised to see him standing there. He jerked his head in welcome, so Tony opened the door and entered the large office. He couldn’t help but glance around, eyes catching on the gleaming metals and painstakingly put together model ships decorating the otherwise sleek and modern space.

He didn’t allow himself to look for too long before turning back to the man observing him as he himself had been observing the mans domain. “Morning.” The commander offered, voice gravely enough that is was likely the first word he’d spoken so far that day.

“Morning.” Tony offered back, just as quietly. “I’d like to get started. Is it okay if I use the plasma screen to make a couple of secure calls?”

“That’s fine. Do you need any help working the table?”

“Nah, I’ve got it, thanks.”

“Alright, let me know if you need anything.”

Tony nodded in appreciation before turning and leaving the space. He felt the eyes locked between his shoulder blades, but didn’t look back. He made his way over to the computer, mimicking the movements he’d watched the night before to bring up a secure program he used to make video calls while off base. Mentally calculating the time difference once more, he pulled up a contact and connected the call.

He wasn’t sure if it would be answered, but hoped if not he’d at least get a call back. To his great relief, the call was accepted and the loading screen changed to a view of a large old fashioned office, a man whose hair was near completely gone seated behind the heaven wooden desk.

“Agent DiNozzo, this is a surprise.” The man greeted, curiosity audible in his tone. He heard the main door open behind him but he didn’t look away from the screen and was thankful when whoever entered remained respectfully silent in the background.

“Sir, thank you for answering. I wasn’t sure if you would be available or not. I’m sorry to disturb your Sunday.”

The man waved him off. “You caught me at a good time, I’m at the office. I assume you’re calling on me for a reason?”

“Ah, yes Sir. I was actually hoping to cash in on that favor you owe me. Actually, I was hoping to cash it in and request an additional one.”

“Oh?” Secretary Davenport responded, settling deeper into his chair.

“Are you aware of the case I worked on when I was with Baltimore PD- the long term undercover assignment within the Italian Mafia?”  

“I remember that from your file, yes.”

“Some of the surviving members have settled in Oahu and are threatening to tip the island into a mob war. The Five-O task force has requested my help stopping this before it gets worse. I’m requesting you assign a temporary Agent Afloat to the USS Seahawk so that I can focus my complete attention on this case.”

Davenport studied him carefully. It wasn’t too unusual of a request, and would only cost him an extra bit of paperwork. “Okay, consider it done. And the favor?”

“Part of the difficulty here is how well known the local law enforcement is. I need backup to go in as my body guards. I know Lieutenant’s Arron Loreto and Eduardo Almeida back aboard the Seahawk are fluent in Italian, and I’m confidant they’d be able to pull off the ruse if willing. I know it’s a lot to ask, but I was hoping they might be temporarily assigned to assist me here. If not them, perhaps Agent Balboa back at the DC office?” Feeling a bit apprehensive, he hooked his hands behind his back to keep from fidgeting.

A brow raised at him before the older man sat forward and began tapping at his computer. Tony stood as patiently as he could as he was subsequently ignored for the next couple of minutes. SecNav finally finished what he was doing and sat back in his chair. “Lieutenant Loreto is scheduled for leave day after tomorrow. I’ll give you Almeida and Balboa.” He offered graciously.

“Thank you sir-“

“I wasn’t done.” The man interrupted him pointedly. Tony quieted once more. “And when you get back to DC, we play the round of golf you keep brushing off.” The younger man managed to keep his face pleasantly calm, but his hands twitched where they were intertwined behind his back.

“Golf instead of a favor owed? Generous of you.” He replied, voice light.

“Golf  _in addition_  to a favor owed.”

“Ah. That’s fair. Thank you, Sir.”

“I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll talk soon.” The Secretary of the Navy disconnected the call abruptly, but Tony didn’t take offence to the move. He let his shoulders relax with a quiet sigh and rolled his neck thinking he should have stopped for coffee on his way in.

Just after the through crossed his mind, he realized it was because he could smell the fresh bitterness filling the room. A cup was lifted beside him and he turned to see Kono with a drink carrier and one remaining cup of coffee left inside. He looked around the room to see the rest of the team there, all with their own coffee already in hand. “Thank you.” He stated heartfeltly, taking a sip of the hot brew immediately.

He glanced around the room again, but no one seemed to be paying attention to what he was doing, so he turned back to the table and made his next call. The second was one answered almost immediate and had a much more chaotic start.

Abby squealed loudly, bouncing up and down on the heels of her platform boots from beneath her overhead camera. “Tony-Tony-Tony-Tony-Tony!! Oh my GOD!- “He watched her indulgently as she babbled excitedly, waiting for her excitement to taper out so he could actually hold a conversation with the bubbly goth. “But wait- Where are you? How are you calling me right now?” She finally cottoned on to the oddness of the situation and stilled slowly, hands coming to rest upon the tabletop in her lab.

Tony smiled at her fondly. “I miss you too, Abby.” He said simply.

The simple statement caused her to bounce up on her toes once more, long arms coming up to wrap around herself. “I’m hugging you with my mind!” She exclaimed, clenching her eyes closed and drawing a second, unseen, smile towards her.

“I don’t have a lot of time though, I need a favor, Abbs.”

“Anything!” She promised immediately.

“I need you to go to my apartment and grab all of the suits on the left side of my closet, and the bottle of cologne that’s on the left side of my sink, and I need you to give it all to Balboa. He’s getting pulled to come help me out and I need him to bring it all to me when he comes. I’ll call him here in a bit and fill him in myself, but would you mind doing that?”

“I can do it, but what’s going on?”

“I don’t have time to get into it right now, but I’ll fill you in later.”

“Okay.” She agreed, pouting slightly, and Tony knew if she couldn’t see the strangers behind him she’d likely have made a bigger scene of getting information out of him.

“Thank you.” He stated firmly, meeting her eyes on the screen. “I’ll talk to you soon.” More tedious call out of the way, he disconnected from the server he was using and moved over to a side table with his cup of coffee, pulling out his cell as he went. The rest of the calls could be made thus, and he would have tried Abby on her phone as well, if he hadn’t gotten her at the lab. Despite being Sunday, she often came in on the weekends for at least a few hours to help catch up on the backlog.

He pulled up his contact list and dialed a number he’d been using since moving to DC. “Sì?” a gruff voice answered after four and a half rings.

Tony, knowing he needed to try and get into a particular state of mind, answered in Italian where he would usually respond in English. “Giorgio! È Tony! Da molto tempo non parliamo, amico mio, come sei stato? [George! It’s Tony! Long time no talk, my friend, how have you been?]” He greeted jovially.

“Antonio! Sei in ritardo per la tua caduta adatta! Ho aspettato la tua chiamata da mesi! [Anthony! You are overdue for your fall fitting! I’ve been waiting for your call for months!] His tailor scolded him rapidly in his native language. Tony typically made a point to visit his shop at least once, if not twice, a year to ensure his clothes were up to date, and to replace the ones inevitably lost to hazards of the job.  

“Sì, sì, mi scuso, in realtà sono stato assegnato fuori zona per alcuni mesi, ma prometto che chiamerò quando torno a casa. In realtà sto chiedendo un favore ...” [Yes, yes, my apologies, I've actually been assigned out of the area for a few months, but I promise I'll call when I get back home. I'm actually calling for a favor...] Tony soothed over before jumping into why he was calling.

A few minutes later, the wizened old Italian suit maker had agreed to provide him with a couple of suits off the rack. The man typically wouldn’t allow a suit of his to be sold without a proper fitting or two, but Tony convinced him that the circumstances simply couldn't allow it, but that Tony still wanted the quality he’d come to expect. He’d have Balboa stop in on his way to the airstrip and pick them up. He shouldn’t have a problem with it, especially considering half the suits he’d be picking up would be for himself.

The last call he made was to Balboa himself, to whom he filled quickly in on the basics of what was going on, so the man wasn’t surprised when he was summoned to Vance’s offices to receive his new orders. The two often played basketball together at the Y when their time off lined up, and he was one of the few people in DC Tony would actually name a friend. It was thanks to that friendship that the other Senior Field Agent accepted his brief explanation and requests without question, promising to fill him in when he’d been given his travel info.

Calls done for the moment, Tony allowed his phone to clatter quietly onto the table while he thought about what else needed to be done. They’d still have to fill his background for the last ten years, and set up a legit looking money trail to explain his own presence on the island. He also needed to establish a place of residence and a vehicle of his own, as his persona was hardly the sort to rely on public transportation.  

 

~*~

tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so blown away by the response to this fic after a single day! I'm glad so many of you are enjoying it already, and I hope it continues to meet your expectations! 
> 
> There is a lot going on in this chapter, and I hope it flowed smoothly. Please note, this chapter is not Beta'd, but I will read back over it when I'm more awake tomorrow. I hope to have chapter three and possibly chapter four out over the weekend. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think! Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes before we proceed with the story: 
> 
> It's been years since I've actually watched NCIS, and so my memory of the time line is a little wacky. I realized that Davenport was SecNav during Agent Afloat and not Jarvis, so I went back and changed that, though the story line itself did not change. 
> 
> To the couple of you who mentioned that Tony shouldn't have been able to leave the ship as he did: In my head, I had Captain Owens granting him permission to hop a scheduled Helo. If that doesn't fly then I'm sorry! But I appreciate you sticking it out with me despite my poor knowledge of how the Navy works in truth :) 
> 
> As for the timeline, this story takes place somewhere at the very end of Season 4 for Hawaii Five-O, after Catherine leaves Steve to fend for himself in Afghanistan, but before Grover joins the team, in case you were wondering.

The rest of the morning passed similarly, with innumerous phone calls and texts being exchanged over the subsequent hours, and between more people than Tony cared to count. When Balboa and Almeida were finally due to land (As the ship was closer to the Island than DC, and a flight was already scheduled to go from the Seahawk to the Naval Base on Oahu, Balboa accompanied the newly assigned temporary Agent Afloat to the ship, and then he and the Lieutenant flew to Oahu), Tony had everything pretty much ready to go.

The trickiest bit had been laying a false paper trail solid enough to pass muster if investigated, but discreet enough to look as if it had been carefully hidden for years. For Tony to be convincing in his ruse, he needed something real to back him up- a real person, or business on the island that he could claim to be a front for his dealings. The answer to his ongoing conundrum came unexpectedly, if the form of a huge Samoan looking male letting himself into the office, bags of to-go food clutched in his meaty fists and familiarity with the team clear in their easy exchange.  

The fact that the shrimp on the mans shirt reflected his own features made it pretty clear that he owned the company providing their meal. Tony’s head tilted as he observed the friendly banter going on before him until he was finally noticed, or at least finally acknowledged, by the large newcomer. “Who are you?” He demanded, voice deep and chin raised. Despite only being an inch or two taller than the agent, the sheer size difference made it seem like a lot more.

“Tony DiNozzo.” He offered easily, stepping forward with a hand extended before him. “And you?” He prodded when the man didn’t immediately offer his own in turn.

“Kamekona.” He said shortly, nodding.

“Kamekona. Nice to meet you.” He glanced down again, pointedly. “You wouldn’t happen to own the restaurant-“

“Bah!” The man interrupted suddenly. “I ain’t got no restaurant! Restaurants are for chums. I own a shrimp truck- All profit, _low overhead_.” He enunciated smoothly, brows wiggling as a smirk crossed his face. “ _Smart_.” He finished, tapping is temple.

Even better, Tony thought silently. “Oh yeah?” He inquired aloud, sounding genuinely interested. “You make a lot of profit, then?”

“More than you could imagine!” The man boasted.

“And it’s all legit?” He continued, not expecting the sudden change in attitude the relatively innocent question brought.

Offence crossed the larger man’s face as he demanded back, “Hey, I keep my nose clean. What exactly are youz asking me?! Cause it sounds like you accusin’ me of somethin.”  

He could see the others step forward to intervein, but spoke up himself before they could. “Oh no, not accusing, I swear.” He shot his signature disarming look at he man and settled deeper into his stance to make himself look more unassuming. The moved seemed to work because he could see the offence fall off as quickly as it had appeared. He’d thought the man would be as quick to calm as he was to anger, and he was glad to see he’d been right. “I am wondering, though, entrepreneur like you, any thoughts of expanding?”  

“Ahh shootz, brah! Let me tell you about my other ventures…” The man rambled on while Tony’s smile grew even larger. He glanced past the man and met the Commander’s eyes.

When the man finally paused in what sounded like a well-rehearsed spiel, Tony took the chance to move on his budding idea. “That sounds great. Hey listen, Kamekona, I need to talk to Steve for a minute but would you mind hanging out for a sec? I’d like to talk to you some more.”

The man frowned over at him. “You’d best make it quick then. I got places to be.”

“One minute.” He promised before moving past McGarrett and leading the man into his own office.

“What?” The man asked, frowning at him in much the same manner as Kamekona had just moments before.

“You’ve been holding out on me.” Tony replied, leaning on one leg and crossing his arms comfortably.

“ _What_?” The man questioned again, though in confusion the second time.

“How well do you know that guy? Do you trust him?” The agent questioned directly.

“Kamekona’s Ohana. Family.” He clarified for the mainlander. “Why?”

“Oh,” A swell of disappointment rose in his chest. If the man was openly related to the very well known Task Force then he clearly wouldn’t work as a front of his operations. “Damn.”

“Feel free to fill me in anytime.” The SEAL stated waspishly as the main failed to elaborate on his own.

Tony shook his head tiredly, headache growing behind his eyes and he had to resist the urge to reach up and rub them. He wasn’t yet comfortable enough with this team to show such an obvious weakness, already feeling his edge of control was balancing on a tightrope between his own confidence and  calm assurance in the situation and the leaders all-consuming sense of command he seemed to practically secrete from his pores.

It didn’t help that the man was distractingly attractive, utilitarian clothing choices only seeming to emphasize the hard lines of his body. Nor did it help that Tony’d always had a bit of a kink for self-assured men who knew what they were doing and looked good doing it. Of course, his attraction towards men didn’t lessen his attraction for women, but rather the women he was attracted to seemed to be of a completely different type compared to the men he found appealing.

Still, he knew better to act on any such thing and so the unasked for attraction was really more of an annoyance than anything else. Seriously, did the man _have_ to flex his arms like that when he crossed them? It seemed a completely unnecessary move, anndd he really needed to focus on what was important.  Shaking off the straying thoughts and gathering himself once more, the agent explained his rough idea of having Kamekona’s businesses be the front he needed to set up his false money laundering scheme. The commander listened intently, nodding at certain points and seemingly intrigued by the idea.

He spoke up when Tony finished. “When I said Kamekona is Ohana, I meant spiritually, not biologically.” He clarified slowly. “Originally he was Chin’s CI back when Chin was still with HPD. He’s done a lot for us, and I think that you’re right and that he can help you. There have been a few that’ve accused him of being a narc, but he’s done a pretty great job keeping himself open to the criminal activity going on and still has a lot of contacts all over the island. You’ll have to ask him yourself though, he’s a civilian and this is a lot of risk. C’mon.”

Tony watched as the man turned and left suddenly,  and he wondered if the abruptness was retribution for forcing him to follow him in the first place. The man really didn’t like accepting anyone else’s lead, Tony thought to himself with slight amusement as he trailed behind, no matter how miniscule that lead may be. When he arrived back at the group, he found Steve already talking to the group as a whole and setting the way for Tony to explain his idea, the leadup putting it in a positive light from the get-go.  

Tony took over the conversation once Steve paused, explaining how he would like to set up a fake paper trail, one that would be very hard to find to make things more authentic, showing that Kamekona was Tony’s front for his money laundering operation. The paper trail would lead back as far as the man’s transition from prison to parolee, baring a cushion of time immediately following his release, and would continue through to the present.

Tony made it clear that if the cousins traced his finances, as he was fairly positive they would, they might well become interested in Kamekona. It might well be harmless interest, or bring about a conversation to try and pull him onto their team instead, but they could have a more extreme response, such as  an attempt to eliminate him to hobble Tony’s business and give themselves a leg up in the territory war they were staring. Ten years ago he might have been better able to predict their responses, but they’d just been out of touch too long and there were too many variables still in play.

The large man’s initial reaction to the threat was to laugh it off, but Tony’s serious tone when he responded made it clear that thee people weren’t a threat to be trifled with, and if he did agree he would have to take that danger seriously. The warning did make the man calm slightly, but he still agreed to help regardless, claiming the ruse would help his own street cred if nothing else. It only took a few minutes to have the basics of the story settled.

Kamekona was surprisingly insightful during the planning, causing Tony to wonder to himself how exactly the man was able to keep all of those criminal contacts in play, and how legal his own business really was. He couldn’t imagine the task force letting him slide too far, though, even being as close to him as they seemed to be, and so he elected not to look too closely into it just yet. Such matters weren’t why he was here after all, and the man really was helping him out. He’d hate to have to arrest him at the end of it all if it turned out he was as dirty as most the other criminals he dealt with.

The time gap that Tony was claiming to be on the island before the man was released from prison could easily be fabricated simply because it was so much harder to verify details from so many years prior. A lack of information could simply be written off as a lost or gaps in records. 

He, Chin, and Kono were working on laying out the last few breadcrumbs of the background, so Steve and Danny headed to the base to pick up Tony’s backup. As distracted as he was by the screens and details before him,  he almost didn’t hear the door open or the familiar footfalls fill the space. Working in the bullpen, hearing the same gaits day in and day out, Tony could name nearly everyone on the floor by the sounds of their steps alone.

Tony pushed himself back from where he’d been leaning over the table and turn around to look at the group. All four of them were carrying suit bags, with the two newcomers carrying a bag each in addition. “How many suits do you have, exactly?” Stan demanded, though with an amused gleam in his dark eyes showing he wasn’t really serious.

Tony laughed aloud, feeling about ten pounds lighter having the man there in his corner. Not that he didn’t think the task force was _up to the task,_ but he’d been burned too many times to trust others to have his back easily, and Stanley Balboa was one of the few people left who hadn’t done anything to break that trust. “Never enough!” He answered brightly, moving forward to greet the man with the friendly, back-slapping hug of two friends who hadn’t seen each other in months.

Smile still on his face, he accepted the man’s load of fabric and then turned to the tensely standing Navy Lieutenant off to the side, looking out of place with the armful of garment bags draped awkwardly over the arm of his uniform as he stood at attention. “Lieutenant Almeida,” He greeted in a tone that was probably more friendly than the man had heard from him before. Not that they’d interacted much, but the two Lieutenants he’d initially named to SecNav had attempted to speak with each other in Italian when Tony had broken up a stakes game, assuming the Agent Afloat wouldn’t be able to understand what they were saying. He hadn’t let in at the time that he too spoke the language, but the man would find out here soon enough. “Thank you for coming.”

He took the stack of garment bags from the Lieutenant too, and then turned to do the same for Steve and Danny, balancing the growing stack with the ease of someone who was used to trips to the drycleaner. All bags in hand, he finally moved to lay them all neatly over an unused edge of the table off to the side of the room. “Sir.” The man responded, saluting his **_former?_** Agent Afloat. He still wasn’t sure why he’d been sent here, having been told he’d receive further orders upon his arrival, and that he was to report to Agent DiNozzo until further notice.

“What were you told regarding your orders here, Lieutenant?” Tony asked casually, turning to lean back against the table and crossing his arms.

“I was told that I would be reporting to you directly until further notice, Sir.” He stated aloud.

“That’s all?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony sighed slightly, bringing one hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose, not cognizant of the fact that he’d become comfortable enough to do so when he’d been hyperaware of his every movement and gesture just an hour before. “Okay, well the first thing is that you’re going to be acting as a civilian during this op. Did you bring civvies with you?”

“Yes, sir.”

Tony managed to keep the grimace off his face at the continued, practiced, response, but only just. “Right, so I want you to go change into something besides your uniform so you can start getting in the civilian mindset. And lose the ‘yes, sir’s,’ you sound like a robot.”

“Yes.. sir.” The man said again, stumbling slightly before turning and retreating to the restroom he’d seen down the hall outside the offices.

As soon as the Lieutenant was gone, Tony let out an explosive breath. Stan grinned over at him, dimple visible on one cheek lending to his charm as he teased, “So how’s life afloat?”

“Miserable.” He admitted freely. “How did you do it for a whole year? It’s only been three months and man,” He sighed again. 

The man’s expression turned slightly more sympathetic. “It’ll be over before you know it. Who knows, maybe you’ll get reassigned early.”

Tony grimaced at the thought, not letting himself hope, not with Vance in charge. “Yeah, maybe.” He stated aloud before changing the subject, taking the time to introduce the man to the other two members of the team, realizing then that he hadn’t yet done so. By the time that was finished, the Lieutenant returned wearing a simple pair of jeans and a black short sleeve button up. Tony repeated the introductions a second time and then settled in to explain the situation once again.

Stan knew him well enough to follow along with the gist of his plan before he got around to explaining it fully, but the situation was completely outside of Almeida’s comfort zone and so Tony took the time to walk through everything slowly, explaining the reasoning behind certain things and discreetly watching the man to ensure he didn’t miss anything important.

The rest of Five-O were working on other things during the explanations, already familiar with everything being said, but they still listened with half an ear from their various points around the room. Eventually, things were as done as they could be for the day and they decided to readjourn the next morning. They wouldn’t move until the afternoon, but they’d spend the time making sure every detail would go to plan.

Rather than adjourning separately as they might otherwise have, Tony recommended the three go get dinner together so they could get more familiar interacting with each other and working as a trio. Well, so Tony and Stan could get used to working with Lieutenant Almeida and vise versa. They ended up at a Surf-and-Turf place close to the beach that McGarrett had recommended and was nearby.

They ended up seated at a three-seater table right up against the wall to wall windows facing the beach, Tony and Stan across from each other and Almeida adjacent to them and facing the window directly. The Lieutenant was still stiff, even if he had settled from his initial ridged tenseness, but they needed him to be even more relaxed and confident by the next day.

Sharing a look, the two friends started up a light conversation about the latest sports scores and movies released, drawing the Lieutenant into their discussion with direct questions and open ended statements. They all ordered a beer with their dinner- they wouldn’t have more than that, but the one wouldn’t hurt- and between the fantastic food, gorgeous view of the sunset over the glistening sea, and the increasingly easy conversation, all three men ended the night much more relaxed then they’d been upon arriving at the restaurant.

By the time they made their way back to the hotel they all had rooms in, the three were much more comfortable together and Almeida had mostly  relaxed from his strict professionalism. It still shone through here and there, but that could easily be brushed off considering they were going in as boss and bodyguard. Settling into bed some time later, Tony felt much more comfortable with his decision to include the Lieutenant and was fairly confident moving forward.

~*~

Despite his positive outlook he’d had when retiring the night before, Tony awoke just after four am full of nerves and anticipation for the day ahead. Resigning himself to starting his day early, he pulled himself out of the generic hotel bed and dressed for a morning run to take the edge off.

Before the Seahawk, Tony had run every day without fail. He had to, to keep his fitness level up to an acceptable standard. After the plague, Tony had been told he’d never been well enough to go back into the field. He’d been told he wouldn’t be able to pass the fitness requirements, that it was pointless to try, and instead offered full early retirement.

When he’d turned that down, he was offered an office and a spot teaching at FLETC. He turned that down too, and from the day he was physically fit enough to begin strenuous activity (that date having been delayed by the unfortunate car bomb he was caught in upon returning to work from his initial medical leave), he’d pushed himself, and continued to push himself a little more every day.

Brad told him he was pushing too hard, that he should consider the options given to him- that he should think about accepting early retirement and moving somewhere warmer and dryer than the cold gloominess that was DC for a good part of the year. Stubborn as ever, he’d ignored the advice and pushed himself regardless, determined to return to his previous level of fitness despite the odds against him.

And he’d done it. He’d sweat and bled and damn near cried at times as he pushed too hard and felt his lungs seize, felt like they were going to suffocate him despite the plague having been months past, but he’d done it. He’d been the fittest he’d ever been in his life- even when he’d been a college athlete.

But then he’d gotten assigned as Agent Afloat, and it wasn’t exactly easy to run through the narrow metal corridors or atop the open flight deck. Sure, there was a fitness center aboard, but there was something about being the only cop amongst a city of five-thousand that made you not want to strain yourself amongst the five-thousand soldiers you resided over.

And thus, after three months of stifled activity, Tony took to the beach and set off at a punishing pace. He ignored the stray thoughts that tried to grab a hold of him- thoughts of old memories and unanswered questions. So twisted up and so intent on ignoring the growing knot of old emotion, he found himself likewise ignoring the burn in his chest, the harsh beat of his pulse overtaking the sound of the waves and the beginnings of lightheadedness that spoke of too little oxygen, and he forced himself on.

He found himself stumbling and falling to his knees in the coarse sand, breath gone and the old familiar sensation of suffocation rising from his too-tight chest and threatening to fill him with panic. He cursed himself silently as he struggled to regain control of his traitorous body, attempting to count his breaths but unable to for one, two, three attempts.

He finally buckled down, fisting sweaty hands in the roughness beneath him and powering through as he’d taught himself to do, refusing to give into the panic that wanted to choke him further into darkness. The sun was rising when he was finally able to take an easy breath, and so he forced himself to roll onto his back as continued to focus on his breaths, the bright colors lighting the sky helping take his mind off the sheer helplessness he felt whenever one of those attacks took over.

Finally in control of himself once more, he continued to lie there for some time, enjoying the stillness of the mostly empty beach so early on a Monday morning. He didn’t push himself back to his feet until the sun was fully risen and he could no longer ignore the responsibility pressing upon him.

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued support! Next chapter we will see our first meeting with the mob!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Italian is powered by Google Translate. Please forgive any mistakes!

When Tony finally returned to the hotel, he took a quick but through shower and then dressed carefully. His suit was perfectly tailored and creased, the line of his vest lying just so under his charcoal grey jacket, and every strand of hair neatly in place. His cufflinks were understated platinum and his cologne overpriced Creed Royal Exclusive Spice and Wood.

Satisfied, he shot off a text and then grabbed his wallet before moving to the door. When he met up with the other two in the hallway, he found himself pleased with how the two looked standing together. They wore nearly identical suits, classic black-on-black two piece ensembles to Tony’s own three-piece, and both men pulled it off very nicely. Tony hadn’t been sure what the Lieutenant was going to do with his hair, and had half expected him to arrive with his usual standard of thick dark curls only moderately controlled by the short fade he wore, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the seemingly untamable locks pulled and sealed into a sleek look that managed to appear both modern and classic at once.

Their trip to the Palace passed without issue and they were soon entering what was becoming a familiar sight of high tech equipment surrounded by glass offices. They monitored the traffic camera outside the bar all day, waiting for the time that one or both cousins might appear. Though the exact time varied from day to day, they had observed at least one cousin entering the bar daily without fail, and so they knew they simply needed to be patient.

The hours passed like a hummingbird covered in molasses, still unbelievably fast but somehow stifled at the same time.  When they finally saw Nicholai walk into view of the camera, it was just after three o’clock and everyone was ready to get the show on the road. They didn’t need to go over things yet again, and so after one last physical check-over, the trio departed.

Unlike his normal talkative persona, Tony was quiet as they moved to the car. He sat in the back, his two ‘bodyguards’ taking the front with Stan driving. They didn’t head immediately to the bar, but rather took a much longer path on roads that were devoid of cameras so that their path couldn’t be tracked back to Five-O’s headquarters.

Unlike the patrons of the bar who parked in back and out of sight of the main road, Stan stopped the car they’d borrowed from HPD impound directly in front of the main door. Stan alone broke off from the group and moved up to try and open the door. If locked, they’d simply go around to the side door. Luck was with them though, and Stan gestured Tony forward.

Having gone over a few last minute warnings and bits of advice for their youngest during the drive, the trio was already fully in character upon their arrival. Tony adjusted his cufflinks and tie one final time as he moved forward, Stan pulling the heavy door open for him and Almeida and then following behind and immediately moving back into his own place at Tony’s right shoulder.

Tony didn’t rush, or even walk briskly. Rather, his body nearly swayed with a slow, predatory like grace across the polished dark oak flooring, the men scattered at various tables around the room eyeing him as he approached his destination.

Not seeing the man he was looking for, Tony instead sauntered up to the barkeep. “Pomeriggio [afternoon].” He greeted simply. The grey haired man nodded but continued to watch him without offering a greeting in return. Tony continued unphased. “Sto cercando Nicholai. [I’m looking for Nicholai.]”

The man maintained his silence, but Tony noticed blanching of his knuckeles from where his fingers were wrapped around an empty glass, buffing it with the rag held in his other hand. He could hear a copule of the others in the room standing and moving closer, but Tony didn’t turn to look.

“You can tell him Antonio’s looking for him.” He added, tilting his head just slightly as one side of his lips curled in something that couldn’t have been described as a smile when he heard two sharp intakes of breath from behind him. “Trust he’ll want to see me.” Scuffling could be heard and then a single pair of footsteps retreated quickly from the room.

Smiling, Tony bowed his head slightly. “It seems your services are no longer required, after all. _Addio_ ” He stated lightly before turning back around to face the room. Scanning once more at the configuration of the tables, he noted the single table sat apart from the others. It was in the corner adjacent the stage, far enough that the noise wouldn’t be obnoxiously loud, but still with a clear line of sight over the stage and the room as a whole. There was a clear berth between it and any other tables, so Tony headed towards it.

The room tensed further, and he had to keep from smirking as he took the seat facing them all, leaning back and crossing his left ankle over his right knee casually as his eyes trailed across the features of the men before him like a king residing over his subjects, as though he alone wasn’t sitting while the rest of the room had stood. The minute camera hidden in his tie pin captured the same view, and back at headquarters he knew the team would be hard at work.

Having locked the final face to his own memory, he dropped his eyes to the glossy table surface, lifting one hand to trail across the surface in a random, abstract pattern as he waited. It only took a minute for the footsteps to return, this time multiple in number. From his new vantage point, he was able to see the heavy wooden door next to the bar that must have led to the back of the building.

A man he hadn’t seen in person in over a decade appeared, followed by four other men. Nicholai had aged well, his own dark hair just starting to silver above his ears, and his lightly tanned skin remained free of wrinkles. He too wore a three piece suit, though Tony was pleased to note the man’s wasn’t as expensive a make as his own.

He didn’t rise to greet him immediately, but rather took the time to scan over those who entered with him. One of the men was one Tony had been familiar with back in Baltimore named Marc Ricci. The man had been an enforcer who particularly enjoyed his job and Tony was surprised to see him considering he’d been sentenced to double life. He glanced quickly over the others, none of them familiar to him and so he locked back on his target.

Finally, even more languorously then he’d entered the room, Tony sat forward and pushed himself out of the chair. He took a single step forward and held out a hand. Nicholai seemed to be fighting a frown but finally stepped forward and clasped his elbow in turn, both leaning in for a hug and a pressing their right cheeks together in a familiar greeting.

Exchange finished, Tony pulled back and gestured to the other chair. “Please, sit.” He offered, tone gracious.

He could see Nicholai’s brow twitch slightly and bit back another smirk as the man remained frozen. Uncaring, Tony stepped back and settled himself into the chair he had claimed. Finally, after another long moment, the man sat down rigidly in the other seat, back fully exposed to the room and trying to hide how irritated he was by being forced out of what was normally his own seat.

“So, Nicholai, what brings you here?” Tony asked then.

“I should be asking you that.” The man replied, a bit of bite hidden in his otherwise bland tone of voice.   

Tony frowned, exaggeratedly. “Asking me? Why would you do that?”

A dark brow was raised towards him. “It’s been years since I’ve seen you, Antonio, and then you just happen to stroll into my bar as if you have a right to a seat at my table? You must admit, it’s a bit odd.”

The others in the room had settled back at their own tables when the man had joined them- baring Stan and Almeida, who still stood in position on either side of main table, backs to the two men and facing out at the room blankly. At that comment, however, Tony noticed a few of them start to look back over.

The smile that curled his lips wasn’t friendly, and his tone of voice lowered in octave when he replied. “It amuses me that you think you have the right to question me walking into your bar, when you’ve come into _my_ territory, left bodies lying in _my_ streets, and brought the heat down on _my_ business. I would _very much_ like for you to explain yourself.” The threat in his tone when he finished was clear, and several men stood and approached once more.  

Nicholai though, he had frozen in his seat, skin taking on a slightly paler hue. He didn’t respond for a long moment, and when he did it was to call for the bartender to bring them both two fingers of scotch. It was only once the expensive amber liquid was placed before them that the man finally replied. “I was unaware that one of la famiglia was on the islands.” He began carefully, every word obviously chosen carefully. “Considering the extensive portfolio we compiled of the dealings going on here before we moved in, it is surprising to _me_ that your name never came up.”

Tony, glass still untouched before him to snub the offering, debated between responding with offence or amusement. He decided to go with a combination of both, allowing them to twine together as the crossed his expression, settling deeper back into his own chair with his arms crossed and an ankle once again brought up to rest across the other knee. “You’ll remember that I prefer to operate _under_ the radar. Better for business, you see.” He tilted his head pointedly. “Which brings us back to why I’m here. You and your… _Company_ , are now a direct threat to the continuation of that business. So where does that leave us?” Once again, the implied threat was clear. A lesser fraction moving in on someone else’s business was practically a death sentence if executed poorly, and Tony was calling them out directly.  

Nicholai pulled a gun from under his suit jacket and pointed it directly between Tony’s eyes, the rest of the room following suit immediately and those who had until then remained at their tables stood to join the crowd effectively boxing them into a corner. Tony shook his head with a small pitying smirk twisting his lips, completely unflinching at the sight he had down the barrel. He’d seen the move coming as soon as the man’s arm had twitched but he’d made no move of his own to intervene, instead allowing the man the power play. They’d prepared for this very situation and Tony could see from his peripheral vision that his backup had followed the plan and left their own guns holstered despite the overwhelming number of ones pointing at them.

 “We could solve this conflict right now.” Nicholai stated coldly, meaning more than clear.

“You could.” Tony agreed with a light nod. “But you and I both know you don’t have the power to make that decision.” Finally picking up the glass set before him, he lifted it and brought it to his nose to inhale the sweet bite of it. He took a single small sip and savored the notes of cherries and raisins coating his tongue and lingering on his palate. “So why don’t we cut this little act off early, and you scurry along and fetch your cousin so the grownups can talk.”  

The gun still pointed at him wavered for the slightest second, but it gave him away all the same. “If that’s what you think, why ask for me and not him?” The man questioned coolly.

Tony shook his head, expression turning sad. “Eravamo fratelli una volta, tu e io. [We were brothers once, you and I.]” It was a bit of an exaggeration, but one the other man couldn’t deny without the risk of further insulting him and Tony knew he wouldn’t do that. “I see now that it was a mistake to try and settle this peacefully with you first.”

Nicholai opened his mouth to respond, but paused when Tony pushed himself up from his seat. He stepped closer to the man, not flinching as cold steel pressed against his flesh. He raised his right hand to slap slightly against the other mans cheek, patting it a couple of time and then brushing against it as he allowed his hand to drop back down. He pulled a newly printed business card from his inner pocked and tucked it into the one sewn to the front of Nicholai’s jacket. “Have Roberto call me.” He commanded easily before turning away. The number he gave was to the burner purchased for this very reason, and would be the only phone he carried for the duration of the op.

He ignored the room full of weapons still aimed at them and turned to saunter back to the door, moving through the crowd and almost teasing them with how easily he offered his vulnerable back to their sights. Stan and Almeida followed behind just as coolly as they’d entered. They made their way back to the car unhindered,  Almeida holding open the door for Tony while Stan went back around to the drivers seat.

When they departed, they didn’t head back to their hotel or the Palace, but rather the isolated safehouse Tony had borrowed access to and that was hidden away in the Ewa Forest Reserve. It was where they would be living until the case was closed.  A benefit of the location was the small access road built between two larger roads. The service road wasn’t written onto any map and was fully covered by thick foliage, so it wasn't visible on satellite either. It wasn’t right next to the house, but rather a quarter mile away through thick vegetation. Still, they had an SUV parked upon it and ready to go should they need a quick exit.

When they arrived at the house, McGarrett and Williams were waiting for them inside, their own vehicle parked on the same service road that they had used to enter the property unseen. The duo greeted them when they entered the house, complimenting them on a job very well done. Apparently they’d already been able to match facial rec to eight of the men who’d been inside the bar and were compiling a growing list of known associates. 

The trio removed the small cameras they’d all been wearing, along with the mic’s held in place by the bugged tie pins and hidden in the natural bump on the back of their ties, just under the knot. After debriefing separately, Tony slipped out the back door and into the forest behind the house, looking for the small river that was said to be on the property.

He found it quickly enough, the sound of bubbling water catching his ears and drawing him in the right direction. He’d already changed into a simple pair of jeans and a casual plain black short-sleeve button up, so he didn’t hesitate to settle on a clear spot of ground by the waters edge, one knee pulled up in front of him and propping up his elbow while his head rested comfortably on the same hand.

His mind was cataloging everything that had happened, his own words and actions along with that of everyone else. He really was proud of the Lieutenant; though he hadn’t doubted the man’s mettle, he’d seen many a strong man felled under the treat of a gun or two, and so had been prepared for things to take a turn, as he was prepared for every other eventuality he could possibly consider.

A branch snapped behind him and he had to stop himself from jumping, still full of adrenaline no matter how well he hid it. He glanced casually over his shoulder to see the Commander making his way towards him. Tony lifted his chin slightly in greeting and then turned back to the water. He didn’t hear anything else during the mans approach, but felt him when he settled into the dry dirt beside him.

The silence lasted for several minutes before McGarrett spoke up, voice low and taking on a gravely quality. With electricity already sparking through his veins, the sound brought a stirring of something else to light in Tony’s lower abdomen. “Penny for your thoughts?” He asked simply, no expectation in his voice but rather an offer to listen if Tony needed a sounding board.

Tony shook his head slightly, corner of  his lips curling. “Too many to put into words.” He said instead. The man made an understanding grunt and then quiet spread for another couple of minutes.

“Back at the bar, you called Nicholai your brother. Were you close during your assignment before?” _That_ question Tony knew he was asking more out of concern for the case than for Tony. If there was a stronger bond there than Tony had admitted to then it had the potential to cause issue down the line. McGarrett was being diligent in asking, Tony knew, but the agent who’d gotten used to being questioned over the last few years at NCIS still bristled inside.

“Not really.” He replied anyway, hiding the emotion away from his voice and elaborating. “After I worked my way up in the family, I spent most of my time working with Michele Macalusco. I uh, caught his attention and he eventually made me his consigliere when the previous one was gunned down.” He paused, remembering all of the shit that had gone down, all of the danger, all of the thrill. He shook the thought off and continued. “Nicholai was a soldier. I saw him enough to be familiar, but we were never particularly close.”

Steve shook his head slightly in confusion. “Then why’d you say that to him? Why didn’t he call you out on your lie?”

“He couldn’t.”

“Couldn’t?”

Tony dropped his arm and turned to face the man more fully. “The family runs on respect. The last time he saw me, I outranked him a few times over. The fact that he’s still not in charge, especially when I’m claiming a breach of established territory, means I still outrank him a couple times over. Something this big, he can’t take action without the Bosses consent.”

“Pulling guns on you wasn’t taking action?”

“Pulling his gun on me was a bluff. He was never going to shoot me, but he wanted to judge my reaction. By that reaction, he saw that I was very serious in my accusation and so he couldn’t risk furthering my anger towards them, or him in particular.” Tony said, shrugging slightly as he explained further. “He also couldn’t back down without losing face in front of his men, so I granted him a favor by leaving on my own. It shows I want a peaceful resolution to this whole thing while reclaiming my place in the power structure at the same time.” 

“I am.. Impressed.” Steve admitted when he finished.

“As you should be, I am pretty impressive.” Tony joked, settling to lean back on his arms. Having been so fully emerged in the case for the past few days, and so bogged down with the old memories, he just wanted to take a few moments to lighten the mood and get out of his headspace. It had been his intention when coming to the river in the first place, but he’d gotten caught back up in his own thoughts.

Both brows shot up on the mans forehead and he glanced over at the agent in amusement. Tony was watching him, so he noticed when his gaze caught slightly on the sight of him reclined back, one thin strip of flesh visible along his back and wrapping around both hips from where his shirt had rucked up with his position. Those intense eyes traced the small bit of visible skin as they ran the length of him. Tony was still watching when he finally looked back up to meet hazel eyes. Tony raised a brow of his own, tilting his head and expecting the man to ignore the attention he’d just been caught giving him. A military man like McGarrett wasn’t likely to be open about such attraction, even if the might feel it, and Tony was curious how he’d respond to the blatant challenge.

Instead of backing down or ignoring that he’d effectively been caught checking out the agent, the commander surprised him by responding in that gravely voice once more, “You are that.” Tony felt a surprising flash of warmth heat his face, for he wasn’t typically one to blush. He sent a questioning look at the man, unsure how he should respond considering he hadn’t expected to get a flirtatious comment back. His own attraction was still there, of course, and only growing stronger as he realized the fit specimen across from him might actually return his appreciation for those of the male persuasion, and be open to exploring that appreciation with him. The new potential added to the situation didn’t make it any less of a bad idea than it had been when Tony considered it before and so he knew he should still be very cautious.

Though the fire still flowing through his veins urged him to push and see where this conversation might lead, he forced himself to abstain. Instead, he pushed himself back to his feet, reaching out a hand to offer the man still seated. “C’mon, McGarrett, we should get back inside and see if they have anything new for us.” He stated lightly when the man simply continued to watch him. At the prompting, the SEAL reached out for his hand and allowed the shorter man to help him to his feet.

He didn’t let go immediately once he was standing, instead remaining still and tracing Tony’s features with his eyes. “Call me Steve.” He finally said, voice even rougher than it had been at the start of their conversation, before releasing his hold and turning back towards the house.

Tony would be lying if he said he wasn’t filled with disappointment at the chance lost, but he told himself once more it was for the best… At least while they were actively working together.  

 

_~*~_

_tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope this first meeting met all of your expectations! I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and if there is anything particular you’d like to see happen, let me know and I may work it into the story if it fits! 
> 
> As always, your I cherish your feedback, and your support always helps encourage me to write faster! Thank you so much to those who have left Kudos and Comments!


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the night passed slowly. The plan was to have the teams alternate- that is, Steve and Danny, and Chin and Kono, so that there were always two Five-O members at the house at all times, in case anything went sideways.

During the setup time the day before, Steve had driven up to the house and installed additional cameras to line not only the road leading to the house, but the forest surrounding it as well. While he did that, Kono set up a compact surveillance room in what was meant to be a laundry room off the kitchen. It allowed the monitors to be close by, but the door could be shut easily enough should unexpected company arrive. It was also set to chime softly should anything trigger the motion detectors that were placed high enough in the trees to trigger for humans, but hopefully not for all of the small animals that might be running around.

Steve and Danny were still at the house, both in that room off the kitchen talking quietly over the screens. Stan and Almeida were in the living room watching a game show with the volume on low. Tony had joined them at first, but quickly found himself too restless to sit there and so had excused himself a while before. The Agent, on the verge of nervous tension without anything to really do or distract himself with, collected all of the guns from the stockpile in the house, laid them across the kitchen table, and began methodically cleaning them one by one.

It was calming, in a way. The familiar, comfortable, movements. The feel of cold steel and the sensation of it beginning to warm beneath his touch. The smell of gun oil and the remanence of old gunpowder. He was nearly a third of the way through the task when he saw Williams rise from his seat in the adjacent room and stagger out into the brightness of the kitchen.

The shorter man moved to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, holding one out to Tony with a look of question on his face. Tony accepted it with a small smile and ‘thank you,’ as he realized he was indeed thirsty. The detective nodded back and then tossed another bottle towards the Commander, who caught it with ease despite not having been looking their way. The blond grabbed a third bottle for himself and then, rather than leaving the room again as he was expecting, surprised Tony when he instead moved towards the chair across from him and spun it around to straddle backwards. His arms rested comfortably across the top of it, rolling the cool bottle of water between his hands.

Tony glanced at him again, a question of his own in the arch of his brow, but Williams didn’t respond. Instead, he watched him quietly for a long minute or two, occasionally moving to take a sip from his bottle. When Tony finished the gun he was on and had carefully set it in the row with the other’s ready to be put away, he finally grabbed his own bottle and look a long draw.

It was only after he set the bottle back down that the Detective finally spoke up. “What’s up with you anyway?”

Tony looked across again, continuing to strip away pieces of the Colt Model 933 he held in his hands, not even needed to look to find the right holds as he moved through the familiar process from muscle memory alone. He sent the shorter man a questioning look, “What do you mean?” He asked, words slower than his hands.

“Well,” The detective drawled, still playing with his own, now empty, bottle between his hands. “The Super SEAL’s already cleaned all of those since they were used last. Him, I already know he’s obsessive compulsive (a disagreeing grunt sounded from the side of the room, but the blond didn’t pay it any attention and the Commander didn’t offer further protest from where he was still sat turned away from them), but what’s your excuse?”

“Do I need an excuse?” Tony questioned, finally glancing away and back at what he was doing as he reached for the oil.

“Well, it’s a little weird, and, you know, homicidal looking, the scene as a whole.” He explained choppily, waving his hand to imply Tony and the table full of a scatter of weapons, rags, brushes and bottles of oil galore, along with the neat line of already cleaned weapons laid out in a row to one side.

Honestly surprised at the turn in the conversation, Tony’s eyes shot back over, a deep laugh of true amusement bursting from his chest without conscious thought from him. “Homicidal looking?” He asked a second later, broad smile still on his face showing his dimple for the first time since their introduction. He shook his head in his lingering amusement. “I just find it peaceful, I guess. My boss was a Gunny and he expects his team to keep to his standards, so I’ve spent a lot of time with weapons in my hands.” He finally explained, feeling the other man deserved it as reward for the laughter if nothing else. “It’s familiar.” He finished, shrugging slightly.

The man squinted over at him, and he wasn’t sure why at first so he frowned back questioningly. “A gunny?” The man asked, confusion obvious. “What’s that, like, a gun nut?” Tony laughed again, and he could see Steve turning to look at his partner incredulously.

“Uhm, no.” He finally said when he got his mirth back under control. “Well, yeah, actually, he kind of is. But I meant that he was a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines?” The man still looked a little confused, so Tony explained further, reminding himself that most civilians (even those in law enforcement) were largely unfamiliar with the inner workings of the military. It had been some time since he’d been around such a person, and it felt strangely lightening. “Also known as a Master of Guns. He’s basically a walking encyclopedia of weapons and ammo, and he can strip and shoot anything you put in front of him.”

“Ahhh.” Williams drawled in understanding. “Sounds like he and Steve would get along like a house of fire.”

“Yeah, uh, maybe. But uh, he doesn’t get a long with very many people, so..” He shrugged lightly, trying to picture such a meeting. Perhaps they really would get a long, McGarrett was definitely the type of man Gibbs respected, so there was that.

 “So can you do that too? If he expects you to be to his standard?” The detective questioned, pulling his attention back.

“Not quite.” Tony laughed again, quieter. “I doubt I’ve seen half of the weapons he’s used. But the ones we do come across or use in our job? Yeah.” He thought back, remembering the hours of range time spent with the Marine standing over his shoulder, offering suggestions and pointers and walking him through all of the different weapons, their parts, their strengths, their flaws, stats, and more information than he could possibly keep straight. “When he was “re-teaching” us how to shoot, he’d pin our own stuff to the target to _encourage better concentration and accuracy_.”

Danny looked surprised. “What kind of belongings?”

“My favorite cover, once. My partners PDA. He’d use anything really, tape it up to hang right there beside the target.” He shook his head, remembering one day in particular with aching fondness for a life long since lost.

“That’s brutal. Did you ever miss?”

“OH yeah. But we learned a whole lot quicker than we probably would have otherwise.”

Steve interrupted the conversation, announcing Chin and Kono had arrived on the service road and were making their way up to the house, bring dinner and coming to relieve their teammates for the rest of the night, and so Tony stood to begin clearing his mess from the table. The detective thoughtfully stood to help.

~*~

After dinner, the two men didn’t set off immediately as expected. Instead, Kono pulled a deck of cards out and began beseeching the others to play a game of poker to help pass the time. The funniest part of the whole thing was the widening of Almeida’s eyes as they darted over to Tony at the prospect of playing the very game with the very man who had busted him and his fellow soldiers only recently.

Stan laughed at the man and clapped him on the shoulder as he came up behind him. “At ease, soldier.” He joked. “You’re not afloat, and the same rules don’t apply here.” The man still seemed on edge, even more so when Tony allowed his lips to curl into a smirk and his brow to raise teasingly without backing up Stan’s promise of clemency.

The second MCRT SFA had come to more than one of Abby’s infamous poker nights, so was well aware of Tony’s own enjoyment of the game. It wasn’t as if Tony broke them up because he himself had a problem with it, after all. He was just doing his frankly awful job, as they were supposed to be doing themselves by abstaining whilst aboard. Though really, he’d be happy if they could just keep it from his attention altogether, so that he wasn’t obligated to intervene.

Stan dropped his arm and moved towards Tony, elbowing him in the ribs for teasing the Lieutenant and nudging him towards the table the others were gathering at willingly enough. There weren’t any stakes, nor beer to drink, but it promised to be interesting all the same. Still, Tony couldn’t help but toss back over his shoulder, “Don’t worry, Squid. I’ll keep it to myself… Like I’ve kept to myself that you and your little band of misfits moved your weekly meeting down to the rec room on deck seven after I busted you last time.” The man’s eyes widened further still and Stan pushed the other SFA more insistently through the doorway in retribution. Tony allowed the motion with a quiet chuckle.

“If you don’t stop teasing him, you’re going to melt his brain.” Stan scolded as they took their seats, but Tony could see the gleam of amusement in his own dark eyes. Tony shrugged unrepentantly, and the lieutenant trailed in a second later, still shooting weary looks at the two NCIS agents as he took the last open seat.

The game kicked off immediately, Kono dealing. Though they weren’t actually keeping score, quite a bit of shit-talk was exchanged as one hour turned to two. It was fun for all, and nice to more fully relax despite the tenseness of the situation.

Every so often, he found his attention straying across to the Commander, who was seated two seats down and around from him- Kono and Danny between them at the round table, followed next by Chin, Almeida, Stan and then Tony. More than once, he noticed Steve watching him in turn and it left a buzz humming under his skin. Every so often their eyes would meet, until one or the other looked away, and then the process would repeat itself.

The attention didn’t go unnoticed, but it wasn’t mentioned either. It was coming up on nine o’clock when Tony’s burner phone rang. The others quieted immediately as Tony pulled it from his pocket. There was only one person who would be calling, after all, and so Tony answered on speaker.

“Yes?” He drawled simply.

“Antonio.” A came a familiar, silky, voice.

“Roberto.” Tony responded. “I admit, I was expecting to hear from you hours ago.”

There was a short silence before the man responded. “I apologize, I was out of reach for some time. I did not know you were on the island, or I would have contacted you sooner.”

“Much sooner, I’d hope.”

Another pause. “I’d like to see you in person. We can discuss our business directly. Would you be available tomorrow? Around nine pm? I’m afraid I won’t be back on the island before then.”

“Not working too hard, I hope?” He probed.

“No, no. Just some business on Maui.”

“Nine is fine with me. I’ll text you an address.” He ended the call before Roberto could respond or argue him choosing the location and then looked back up at the others. They had their meeting then. Deciding it was time to end the game, the group broke apart with Steve and Danny heading back to the car while Kono and Chin stayed for their shift at the house.

The two senior members of the Task Force had been driving for about fifteen minutes when Steve noticed the sidelong glances he was getting from his partner. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” The Jersey native pacified, glancing away and out the window. Still, Steve continued to look between the road and the other man as he waited for something more than that.

“If it’s nothing, then why do you keep looking at me?”

“I’m not allowed to look at you now?”

“Danny, just tell me what your problem is!” Steve sighed, exasperated. Couldn’t they ever just have a conversation without having to bicker their way through it?

“Tell you what? There’s nothing to tell!” The blond exclaimed, tossing his hands slightly to emphasize.

“Fine.” Steve grudgingly accepted, looking resolutely out the windshield and resolving to ignore the annoying man beside him.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later, after he’d relaxed his tense shoulders back into his seat, that the detective spoke up again. “So what’s up with you and DiNozzo?”

Steve’s head jerked back at the unexpectedness of the question. “What’s up with me and DiNozzo? What do you mean what’s up with me and DiNozzo? We’re working together. As the two of you are working together. Should I be asking you what’s going on between the two of you?”

“Oh come one, don’t deflect.”

“Don’t deflect?!”

“Are you going to repeat everything I say?” Danny demanded, becoming frustrated himself. “Look, all’s I’m saying is that I noticed the looks, okay? I noticed the looks, and you know the others did too. So what is it?”

“Look, it’s nothing, okay? It really is. He’s just, attractive. And there may have been an exchange earlier to would imply he might not be opposed to something happening in the future. But that’s all, nothing else happened, okay? What?” He asked in a huff at the disbelieving look Danny was shooting him at that.

“Okay fine, keep telling yourself that. Either way, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t care. Screw the guy, don’t screw him, it doesn’t matter to me. What does matter to me is you. So how are you?”

“Me? I’m fine? Why are you asking me how I am?”

“You’re fine? Completely fine?”

“Yes Daniel! I’m completely fine. What is with you tonight?”

“Okay. Heard from Catherine lately?” The detective demanded directly ignoring the man’s own question.

Steve froze before shooting an angry look over at him. “You know the last time I heard from her.”

“So what? Have you given up on her coming home?”

Steve shook his head with a sigh, frowning deeply as he seemed to slump slightly. “I don’t know what Catherine is going to do. She’s been restless since she left the Navy. It was all she’s known. She’s clearly not ready to settle down, and I don’t want to force her…” He paused again, putting his thoughts in order. “But I don’t know if I can keep waiting for her to be ready, you know? It’s like, we’re at different points in our lives. We want different things. We gave a real relationship a shot, but man, I just don’t know if we can work like this, not when we’re operating on such different levels.”

“Good.” The blond said simply.

“Good? Why is the collapse of my relationship good, exactly?”

“Do you remember the last time you saw this woman?

“Of course I do! What kind of question is that?”

“Do you? Well let me remind you anyway. It was on a road in Afghanistan, where she dragged you to in the first place, remember, and then abandoned you to be tortured and execute by the freaking Taliban!” He finished loudly, twisted around in his seat to face the man more fully. Steve opened his mouth to argue and defend the woman, but Danny cut him off before he could speak. “NO, Steven, listen to me for one minute. I care about Cath too. Not the same way you do, obviously, but you know I care.” Steve nodded grudgingly beside him, gritting his teeth and allowing the other man to finish. “But what she did to you? I don’t know if I can forgive her for that. And I don’t know how you can so easily either.”

And wasn’t that just the bitter truth of it? Steve knew what went down wasn’t Catherine’s fault, not really. No one could have predicted that boy falling beside the truck or what happened after. Sometimes, shit just hit the fan and you had to roll with is as best as you could.

Still, a small, buried, part of him remembered quite vividly imploring her to wait, to stay on the island, to come up with a better plan than just getting there and going in blind off of a single phone call. She’d refused to wait, stubborn as she ever was, and Steve had gone to try and protect her, would have done anything to protect her.

But it hadn’t gone both ways, had it? He could still remember, though blurry eyes and ringing ears, the sight of Cath standing frozen ducked off the road near where he’d last seen her. He remembered the bodies spread along the dirt, blood soaking into the thirsty ground almost as quickly as it could spill, and only two enemies left alive. If they hadn’t managed to fell him with that unexpected grenade, they’d have taken down the whole convoy, easy. She could have finished it herself, his mind whispered, she’d already killed two men during the scuffle, why couldn’t she kill the last two? She could have taken them out while they were distracted moving towards him, or when they were dragging him back to the vehicle with their own backs exposed. She could have taken out a tire, could have attempted anything… But she didn’t even try. She just stood there and watched them drag him across the dirt, throw him in the back of that truck and drive away to be featured in his own Taliban beheading video.

That wasn’t fair either, he knew logically. She had a moral responsibility to those children, to get them to safety and back to their villages and families. Attempting to rescue him could have put the mission at risk.  

But still…  despite how worried he was for her, despite how much he still cared for her… “I don’t know if I have, Danno.” Steve admitted quietly, voice rough. “I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I want to anymore.”

He could see Danny studying his profile and was curious how the detective would respond to the admission. He felt a surge of gratefulness at the simple response when it did come. “You know that whatever you decide, I’ll support you. No matter what.” He promised quietly. It didn’t seem like much, compared to the painful admission he’d just made himself, but it was exactly what he needed to hear. The rest of the car ride passed in silence.

~*~

**_Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location on the island, just after Tony ends the call with Roberto:_ **

The phone made the faint sound of a call being disconnected, and the man holding it lowered his hand slowly. His eyes were a brown so dark they looked nearly black, and they were narrowed down at the table were a still video of the man who’d waltzed into his bar earlier that day was frozen on the screen of his laptop.

He looked back over at his cousin, who was slumped slightly in a chair to his left, and then to the third man was seated straight-back to his right. “Well,” he stated slowly. “it seems our old associate is back after all.”

“Will this delay our plans?” The third man questioned, tone emotionless.

“No.” Roberto answered, tone thoughtful. “But it needs to be dealt with carefully. I want to know everything Antonio has been doing since I last saw him- where he’s been, who he’s spoken to, who he’s in business with, where he lives, what he drives, who he fucks, what he has for breakfast in the morning- _everything_. Do I make myself clear?”  

“I’m on it.” Nicholai swore, pushing himself up to go carry out his cousins’ orders. The third man looked back to Roberto once they were alone.  

“You are sure this will not cause delay?”

“Positive. We move on Friday as planned. You have my word.” He swore, bowing his head slightly in respect.

“Good.” The other man stated coolly, before rising and taking leave of his own.

The photo filling the screen mocked him as Roberto was left in silence. No. Nothing would stand in their way- Not even ‘Tonio.

_~*~_

_tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:  
> Chapter five done! Next chapter will have more action, I promise. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I’ve personally always disliked Catherine as a character- she just rubbed me the wrong way- but I’ve pretty hated her since that particular episode. 
> 
> Another note: if you're are curious, Almeida is not an OC, he's actually in two scenes of 'Agent Afloat,' if you care to actually see his character in actuality :)
> 
> Please let me know what you think! I am my own beta, so please forgive any mistakes you find. I apologize for not responding to the wonderful reviews you’ve left, but if I attempted to do that then it would slow down the rate I’m able to get the chapters out, so I hope you don’t mind too much. Still, know that I cherish every review and Kudos left! Your feedback keeps my muse flowing! Thank you, and I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!!


	6. Chapter 6

During his research period at the beginning of the assignment, Tony had found an upscale cigar bar in Honolulu that boasted private rooms. He’d saved the number into his phone upon finding it (after calling to make a couple of casual inquiries, to be sure he knew what to expect), just in case he ever found the need to use it, so it was convenient for him to place a call and book one of the rooms.

Wanting everything to be as authentic as possible to avoid inadvertently tipping off the more cunning of the cousins, Tony refused the Task Force’s desire to bug the room ahead of time. They’d tried to pitch him two different plans, but he’d turned them both down. The first plan had simply been to bring the owner in on the fact that they were running an op, so they’d have open access to do whatever they wanted to the room.

Tony had chosen this particular place because he knew it would appeal to Roberto. Though the mobster didn’t have a known association with the establishment, Tony wouldn’t be surprised if he was already familiar with it, and you never really knew who the man might have in his pocket. It was for that reason he refused the first idea.

The second idea was to book the same room prior to Tony’s own meeting, so that they could bug it under the cover of simply being another random customer. To Tony, that plan was simply to risky all around. They had no way of knowing how often the private rooms were booked, especially considering the ease in which he’d procured one on relatively short notice, so to make two reservations back to back in the same room might tip off any number of people that something odd was going on.  

No, it was better for Tony to arrive slightly before the arranged time and plant a few small cameras around the space himself. To avoid giving away the advantage of knowing their meeting point, Tony waited to inform the other man of its location until he himself was already there, having made his reservation a half-hour earlier than the scheduled meeting time. 

Text sent, he installed the few small devices around the room and then settled into one of the chairs at the table, rolling the obscenely expensive cigar that he would never purchase as himself between his fingers as he waited. Ten minutes before his guest was due to arrive, he moved through the ritual of lighting the cognac soaked tobacco and then brought it to his lips for the first puff. The rich flavor filled his mouth, coating his tongue and bringing his senses to life, a memory surging unbidden to the forefront of his mind. 

~*~

**Michele Macaluso’s private study: Baltimore, Maryland: 2002**

_The night was dark and vicious, rain pounding against the windows and leaving heavy torrents of water rushing down the bullet-proof surface. The wind was just as vicious, forcing the branches of the trees to smack repeatedly against the thick walls of the compound the man inside called his home. The compound itself was dark only a couple of lights flicked on inside, the men present having just arrived back after a long day of business dealings._

_Michele sat behind his grand desk sculpted from black walnut. The walls of his study were made of sleek wood paneling, and the large fireplace that took up most of the opposite wall sent shadows dancing across the space like a bizarre puppet show. The desk itself stood mostly empty, but for a few neat stacks of files arranged across its surface, a phone, and a single wooden box that was placed neatly to one side._

_Tony himself stood to the side of the desk, pouring them both a drink from the small selection of high priced liquor hidden inside of an antique looking globe, as he’d been directed to upon entering the room. Task finished, he set the first glass before the man who could very well be the most powerful individual in Baltimore, and then settled into the seat across from him. Michele sat forward with a grunt of thanks, reaching for the box and removing two cigars from its interior. He handed one to the young man, going into his own pocket to remove the tools needed to prepare the object, and then handing those over as well._

_He studied Tony as the young man moved through the motions that were still fairly new to him, features contemplative. “You do not care for smoking.” The Boss stated suddenly, not phrasing it as a question. Tony glanced up from his task, keeping his face composed but allowing a hint of a smirk to pull at one side of his mouth. He did not answer verbally, as it didn’t really require a response. He knew the man would come to whatever point he was working towards in his own sweet time. Sure enough, a moment later Michele continued, “And yet I keep passing them to you all the same. Do you know why that is?”_

_“I’m sure you have your reasons.” Antonio replied smoothly, passing the tools back and then taking a slow pull on the end. The taste of it was bitter and acrid, but he forced his face to remain still rather than curl as it desired to do. “Beyond enjoying this.. Unique flavor yourself.” He ended with a drawl, shooting an almost teasing look across at the older man._

_Michele’s hands were much quicker and more graceful as they moved through the motions themselves. ‘Smoking a cigar is a personal thing. A man must always prepare his own.’ The Don had told him the first time he’d passed him one, and so Tony had only ever smoked those he himself had cut and lit. Now it seemed the man sought to impart more wisdom upon him, as he was want to do from time to time, depending on his mood. “Mmmm, yes. You are likely unaware, but this particular cigar is one of the best available on the market. Giving such a luxurious object to my associates could be considered almost.. wasteful, and yet it serves two very distinct purposes. Can you guess what those purposes are?”_

_Tony turned the question over in his head, the first answer coming quickly, but the second remaining elusive. “The first seems obvious- you do have the best of everything, and so it’s a further reminder of your wealth and success, and what you might do with that influence should they consider crossing you.” The man nodded in acknowledgement but remained silent as he waited for the second answer. He though over the time that had already passed since he sat. The preparation took time, the whole procedure took time, really. It was something of a tedious task so far as Tony was concerned. “And it gives you time to observe them?” The second came out as a question._

_“In part.” The man acknowledged, before elaborating. “Getting to the level I’m at in this business is difficult, but_ staying _here is the true challenge. Do you know why that is?” He didn’t wait for an answer that time, but continued immediately. “You don’t, not yet. But you will, someday. Listen well, because this may be the most important thing I ever teach you.” He paused to take a small sip of the expensive scotch filling his glass, and Tony followed suit, attention rapt. “No matter how powerful you become, how much influence you gain, how much money you have to throw away, you must **never** show hesitation. Not in your words, not in your actions. You must always have an answer ready, you must always be prepared to face any question posed to you head on.”_

_“Eventually, you will come to a point where you are above being questioned. That will not stop the boldest from asking those questions anyway, and your response will be what decides the fallout. If you remain calm, rational, and in control, than you can survive any such interrogation. But if you hesitate? If you find yourself at a loss of words during a critical moment, if you lose face for even a second, then people will begin to question you and they will question your ability to remain in command. No matter how secure you are in your own authority, if your men lose faith in you than you’ve lost everything already.”_

_“That is why I offer these cigars so freely. The process of smoking is a slow one. Yes, it does lend time to observe my companion of the moment, but it also allows you to pause, to gather your thoughts, to breathe. You are never caught out if you are simply so uncaring that your cigar holds more interest than the questions posed to you. Do you understand?”_

_Tony nodded slowly, thinking over everything he’d heard. He brought it to his lips once again, taking a slow draw as he turned things over. Done right, taking a single hit could give him a good ten seconds or more, should he ever need to buy himself time to think on his feet. Still, cigar or no cigar, it was a valuable lesson all together, and one he would take to heart. Unbeknown to him, it was a lesson that would help permanently shape his personality over the course of his life._

_~*~_

It wasn’t the only valuable lesson the man had imparted upon him, and many Tony still used in his day-to-day. He used the remaining time to reacclimate his body to the flavor of the tobacco and to get over the feelings of nostalgia that had surged at the first wisp of smoke-scent tickling his nose.

By the time Roberto arrived, the cigar had shrunk the slightest bit and Tony appeared to have been there for a few minutes, but not an overly long time. Stan knocked lightly and then opened the door from his position outside of it. Tony nodded to him in thanks as Roberto entered the room, his own men remaining outside after a slight gesture of the man’s hand at seeing the otherwise empty room.

In a manner reminiscence of the day prior, Tony rose and greeted a man he hadn’t seen in many a year. Only once the niceties were finished did the two sit. Tony gestured to the cigar identical to the one he was holding, sitting at the place opposite the once he’d chosen for himself. “Forgive me, I can no longer claim to know your preferences, but I hope this will still suffice?” At $750 apiece, the Gurkha His Majesty’s Reserve should more than suffice, but Tony knew how expensive the other man’s tastes ran and so added a hint of mocking to his raised brow alongside the words.

“Exquisite choice.” The man complimented in return, bowing his head slightly in thanks and reaching out to lift the small cylinder. Tony drew in another slow puff of his own as he lazily observed the other man move through his own practiced preparation, taking a moment to enjoying the rich flavor he’d eventually learned to appreciate, even if he didn’t continue the practice once that assignment had ended. He’d been given cigars during various other points of his life- frat brothers having a baby, bachelor parties, and the like, but those ones were always harsh and terrible compared to the quality of the one’s he had so frequently during that assignment.

The selection had been deliberate, of course- not only as a nod to his old mentor in falling back on the man’s own favorite, but also to remind Roberto of that relationship and of their historic difference in rank, despite it seeming as though they now stood on even ground.  

“It’s good to see you, my friend. It’s truly been too long.” Tony finally stated, tone amiable and light, only after Roberto let out a puff of smoke himself.  

“It has indeed.” Roberto returned before his eyes narrowed the slightest bit. “I admit, I wondered what had happened to you. I’ve made a few inquiries, but no one seems to have any idea where you’ve been.” His voice was friendly in turn, but Tony could sense the slightest bit of tension beneath.

“It was a.. troubling time, for all involved.” Despite it appearing as though he was choosing his words as the conversation progressed, he’d already mentally prepared his responses based on the questions he knew would come up, however much their actual wording might change. “I did as everyone else who managed to survive _la caduta della famiglia [the fall of the family]_ ,” his free right hand rose as a fist to press first against his heart and then up and against his lips in a gesture of respect for those lost, be it to jail, or to bloodshed during the chaotic hours that followed the first raid. Not everyone went down easily, afterall. “I went to ground until I was able to clear the net around the city, and then rebuilt my business from the ground up. As I assume you did?” He finshed leadingly.

“My story is similar, I suppose.” The man acknowledged blandly, but didn’t elaborate.

“It’s not an easy thing to do.” Tony commented blithely. “Succeed on our level, that is. For as long as we’ve managed.” He paused to take another puff, but it was fairly obvious he wasn’t done speaking and so Roberto kept his own silence. “Men of our caliber all tend to make the same mistake, eventually. Do you know what that mistake is?”

“My curiosity’s peaked.”

“Humm.” The noise he made in reply sounded disappointed and Tony met the other man’s eyes boldly. “They get bored. And then they get sloppy. Personally, I despise such men. It’s such a terrible display of weakness, would you not agree?”

Roberto nodded once, just the slightest bit.

“So you can understand why I’d be upset at such a man dropping unexpectedly into my business and making a general mess of things.” It wasn’t a question, but it caused his companion to drop his chin further than before.

“Anto-“ Roberto attempted to speak, but Tony didn’t allow him the chance.

“You should choose your next words very carefully.” His voice dropped and took on a dangerous edge. “You’ll find I’m not so tolerant of fools as I once was, and my patience is _much_ reduced.”

Tony could see his jaw flex as the man ground his teeth together, beginning to get angry but keeping it in careful check. Had Tony not been so practiced at reading the subtle cues, he likely wouldn’t have noticed the small tell. “I assure you, you are misunderstanding the situation.” Tony rose a brow immediately in offence at the blatant questioning, preparing to retort when the man hurried to continue. “By that I mean we did not come here with hostile intentions towards you or yours.” He explained briskly. “My men ran a thorough check over the islands more notable inhabitants and your name never came up. My cousin said he already informed you of this?”

“He did, yes.” Tony replied lazily, taping off some ash into the crystal tray provided on the middle of the table. “But hostile intentions or not, your presence here has adversely affected my business, and will continue to do so for some time considering the scrutiny you so helpfully brought down upon my head. How would you suggest I respond to that?”

He studied the other man nonchalantly as Roberto thought over his response. “Perhaps we can work together.”

Tony laughed a bit cruelly. “And why should I _want_ to work with you? You’re slovenly, Roberto. Your men are disordered, and your business is chaotic. The only thing us working together would offer me is a worsening headache.”

A flash of his own offense crossed the man’s face but he recovered well. His response was slow and careful when it came. “I understand how things must seem from your perspective, but I assure you that you don’t have the full picture.”

“Please, do enlighten me.”

“We choose Hawaii, and this island in particular, for our next venture for one very good reason. Well, for many reasons, but one that matters enough to make a difference on a large scale.” He was clearly hoping for a response, for a sign Tony was becoming intrigued, but Tony offered only another unimpressed raise of his brow. “A new associate has offered us an opportunity to clear both law enforcement and potential competition out of our way in one fell swoop. I won’t bore you with the details, but by this time next week, the Five-O task force will be devastated and our path clear to move into our new territory. Once we are established in truth, there will be no further need to operate as we have been thus far, and we will once again be able to focus on increasing our profits. Perhaps then you will realize the opportunity before you.”

Tony allowed his lips to curl mockingly, not giving away the start of surprise to learn the team he was working with apparently had an invisible target over their heads. “Many before you have attempted to claim those lives. What makes you think you won’t end up like the rest?”

The man smiled back, though his was more bloodthirsty. “I have an advantage the others didn’t.”

“Oh?” The word was both uncaring and disdainful in one.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about.” The man replied with a flick of graceful fingers. “Though maybe we should postpone this meeting until after then, when you can see the value of what I am offering you for yourself.”

That wouldn’t do, he didn’t have nearly enough information. Another mouthful of smoke swirled and danced over his tongue as his brain sped miles ahead. “So what you’re offering me is _the possibility_ of you managing to succeed at a feat many before you have failed attempting, so that you _might_ become valuable to me in the future?” He tutted lightly. “That’s just not good enough, I’m afraid.”

“Then what would be?”

Tony frowned at him, shaking his head in disappointment. “You will get me a meeting with this new… _associate_ , of yours. He’s clearly the one I should be speaking with, and you know how hate my time being wasted.”

The offense came again, stronger than before and not quite as well hidden. “My associate isn’t the kind of man you demand a meeting with.”

“Who’s demanding? Consider it a polite request.”

“He doesn’t take requests, either.”

Tony’s demeanor shifted then, turning icy and frigid. He leaned forward across the table, allowing a wash of smoke to blow directly in the other man’s face in clear insult. “And I don’t take refusals. You _will_ get me a meeting, or I’ll get one on my own. _Your associate_ will not like me near as much if I have to track him down myself.” The words were a deadly promise, and he could see the other man’s pupils dilate helplessly in response.

Message delivered, Tony settled back in his seat once more, though is eyes remained narrowed in warning. “I will attempt to arrange a meeting.” Roberto agreed then, voice subdued.

Tony sneered at him in disgust. “You have my number. Now get out.” The other man stood quickly, tapping his own cigar out in the crystal tray and disposing of the remaining three-quarters before taking his leave. _What a waste._

~*~

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’ll be at least one more flashback in this fic, so I hope you don’t hate them! I’ve personally gotten annoyed at the excessive use of flashbacks in fics before, so I hope this one doesn’t read that way. Any guesses on who the associate is? I can’t wait to hear what you all think as the plot begins to thicken. Thank you for reading, and for the feedback already left! 
> 
> PS: I’d originally intended for this to be a slow burn to the end kind of thing, but my muse is trying to change things up. Any preferences from my wonderful readers?


	7. Chapter 7

When the trio arrived back at the house, it was for another round of slightly tedious debriefs. No matter that they’d all listened in and watched the proceedings from afar, sometimes simply going over things aloud could shed light on the case that might otherwise be missed or overlooked. Thus, however dull it may be, it was an important part of the mission and so essential. As soon as he finished his own recounting of events, Tony ducked out into the room that he was using during their stay in the safehouse.  As soon as the door was closed behind him, he allowed the pleasant mask to fall from his face and the lingering darkness clinging to him to show.

When he’d played the part of Antonio the first time, he’d been fully submerged in his cover from beginning to end, save the rare time he was pulled out to give or receive intel, and so he didn’t have to worry about going back and forth from persona to persona. He had to get himself into a very particular mindset to play Antonio, and it was always difficult to shake off the darkness that crept into his veins immediately following such a stint. Thus, it was easier to make himself scarce than having to keep up a cheerful or unbothered persona.

He began stripping as he made with way to the ensuite bath, tossing the expensive articles of clothing with a disregard he normally wouldn’t show but uncaring in that moment. When he arrived in the bathroom, he turned the cold water on but ignored the knob for the hot to moderate the temperature. It was sweltering outside anyway, despite the coming evening, and so the first splash of water on his bare skin was even more shocking than it otherwise might have been.

He didn’t flinch as he stepped fully under, using the sting if the icy spray to numb his mind as it worked to numb his flesh. He washed on autopilot, neither rushing nor lingering over the task, and was soon stepping back onto the tiled floor. Goosebumps covered his arms as he rubbed the moisture from them first, followed by the rest of his body.

The closet held the small amount of personal belongings he had with him, and he moved towards it to gather something less formal than the bespoke suit he’d been wearing. Deciding to go with comfort over professionalism considering it was now after five, he grabbed a pair of basketball shorts and a worn Buckeye t-shirt from their position on a shelf. Dressed and feeling at loose ends, Tony stood silently in the middle of the room for a long moment, a single trickle of water escaping from his still damp hair to run down his temple and leave behind the ghost of an itch.

Huffing a sigh thorough his nose, feeling the annoyance of confinement for the first time thus far (though he knew it wasn’t likely to be the last). He settled for pulling on his running shoes and moving silently back through the house, ignoring the others he passed for the most part and heading directly for the door that lead out to the isolated back of the property and the surrounding forest. 

Exiting into the glair of the evening, he slipped the sunglasses he’d grabbed on his way out of his bedroom over his eyes and disappeared into the cover of leafy foliage, moving in roughly the same direction he’d gone before.  He reached the river shortly but didn’t yet feel like stopping and so turned and began moving up alongside the path it scored into the earth , keeping it to his right as he went. He’d never live it down if he got lost wandering around, so he decided early on to keep the landmark in sight.

The terrain’s elevation was rising quickly, as he’d known it would from studying the map of the area previously, and he reveled in the burn he quickly felt settle into his calves. The sweat trailing his back was less appealing, but he ignored the itch of it as best he could as he pressed on. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been walking for when he came a dead end, the river turning into a tall waterfall with nearly sheer cliffs on either side.

Feeling overheated and deciding he’d gone far enough, he moved up to the waters edge and plopped down on his ass, bringing an arm across his forehead to remove the built up sweat clinging to his hair line. He had the burner phone on him, and knew he’d likely been tracked via the cameras spread around the forest, so he wasn’t overly concerned with returning to the house right away.  

He glanced down at his watch to see it was after six, so he’d been hiking alongside the river for almost an hour. Mentally calculating when dusk would fall and knowing better than to try and make his way back in the dark, he told himself he’d start heading back at seven. Happy with his decision, he lounged back on his arms, taking a moment to simply breath in the fragrant air and listen to the crash of water over rocks. He felt at peace for the first time that day, and allowed his eyes to fall shut beneath the cover of his glasses as he savored the moment.

He remained that way until he heard a branch snap behind him, and looked lazily back over his shoulder, feeling unconcerned. It was perhaps a bad move, considering the situation he was in, but his instincts rarely led him wrong, and they weren’t screaming danger. They proved themselves once again when he saw the Commander moving slowly towards him, though the mans eyes were looking up at the waterfall and not at Tony himself.

In a move reminiscent of the last time the two were at the river, the commander took a seat beside him on the ground. “Tracking me on camera not enough?” Tony spoke up after a minute of silence.

“Camera’s don’t span up this far.” McGarrett replied lowly. “And you shouldn’t be so far out here alone.”

Tony felt his lips twist as he looked at the man sideways. He didn’t call him out on the fact that he’d clearly been following him since the beginning, else he wouldn’t have arrived so quickly after Tony himself, which meant he’d been in well within camera range still when the commander decided to trail him instead of simply maintaining surveillance. The Commander caught the look anyway and smiled himself a bit sheepishly with an almost invisible shrug. “You seemed stressed. Wanted to see if I could help.” He finally admitted, caught.

Tony pulled his eyes back to natures display before them. There were so many ways that statement could be construed, especially considering the subtle flirting that had been going on thus far, but Tony got the sense he was being genuine, so he felt he owed it to the man to be honest in return. Still, putting his thoughts into words could sometimes be easier said than done, and he found himself almost stumbling as he tried to explain what was going on in his brain.

“Not stressed, so much… I just, ah, well. I have to get into a certain headspace when I’m undercover, you know?” He finally managed. “It can be hard to pull myself out of it. It’s uh, easier, when I’m not around people to put myself back together…”

McGarrett frowned slightly, moving as if he were going to push himself back to his feet. “Sorry,” He began quietly. “I can leave you be-“

“No!” He felt embarrassed at his outburst, even if it came out more quietly than it otherwise could have. The other man bore the uncomfortable ability to make him react, which was more dangerous for him than nearly any other behavior. “You don’t have to leave,-“ He continued anyway. “I don’t mind you being here.”

Steve settled back into his position, studying him discreetly and having no way of known Tony was studying him just as closely considering how well hidden his own hazel eyes were in that moment, concealed beneath both sunglass and the shadows from the shade above. “I do get it, you know?” The SEAL said after a pause, his own voice just as quiet. “Getting into the mindset, the headspace… having to pull yourself back out of it…” He seemed to become self-conscious at revealing himself, straightening his shoulders and spine with a quiet bolster Tony could tell was a bit forced.

While Tony wasn’t a military man himself, and had never served overseas, he’d had enough experience with NCIS to gain an understanding of just what their servicemen went through- the trials they faced, be it from foreign powers or the pitfalls of their own minds, and so he had the utmost respect for those who came though hale and whole.   

It took a strong man who could face impossible odds and near certain death, and still come out fighting on the other side. As a SEAL, Tony assumed Steve had done so time and time again, else he’d be simply another body in the ground, another flag immortalized beneath a wooden frame and gleaming glass… another fading memory resting forevermore atop someone’s gleaming mantle place.

Though it wasn’t quite the same thing, Tony felt a kinship with the other man. Being undercover- really undercover, and not the farce we was playing in this particular situation, was much the same. It was a realization and understanding of one’s own mortality, of how truly fragile life was, of how easily it could be extinguished and how easily your own life could be snuffed should the wrong person take a particular interest in you.  “Yeah…” Tony agreed, studying him more blatantly when he realized his own stifled reaction was causing the Commander to shut down subtlety, bit by bit. “I suppose you’d understand better than most.”

And he would. While not entirely the same situation, McGarrett had marched head first into dangerous, impossible situations and come out victorious on the other side. He understood what it was to expect to meet you death on a daily basis, to acknowledge and accept such a thing as commonplace and press forward regardless. To know that you were entirely out of reach of rescue if things went sideways, if you took a single misstep or made the smallest mistake at the wrong moment… He couldn’t do the job if he spent every moment fearing for his life- that kind of fear, that kind of anticipation- it had the power to paralyze, to be fatal in-and-of itself. It was only _once_ you’d accepted it that you could truly move past it, that you could focus wholly on the mission, irrespective of the cost to oneself, to one’s soul.

To experience and live through such a thing left a mark, it was life-altering in its magnitude, and it left a shadow behind on those it touched, no matter how long ago the event(s) may have occurred. The two men locked eyes as the moment seemed to freeze, a thousand things passed unsaid in the white noise surrounding them as the thick misty spray from the fall rose before them.

The moment was broken by the shrill ringing of a phone. McGarrett’s face made a weird twisting expression as he pulled the device free from his form-fitting cargo pants and glancing briefly at the screen before bringing it to his ear.  “Yeah.” He said simply.

“We’ve got another body.” Danny stated bluntly on the other end.

“What?!” Steve demanded, looking back at the agent with a frown. The other man had been so certain the deaths would pause at his appearance that he was truly stunned at the news, considering how spot on the man had been thus far. “Where?”

“Kapolei. Zhang Wei, known member of the Triad, on the watch list of half-a-dozen agencies. There’s a lot of noise at his death, and we haven’t even released anything yet. It’s shaping up to be a real shit show. Where are you?” Danny explained shortly, voice tense as he filled his partner in.

Steve bit back a curse of his own. “Be there in fifteen minutes, be ready to move out.”

“Will do.” Danny replied and disconnected.

“We gotta go.” The SEAL stated brusquely, ushering the agent to his feet and back down the way they’d come, much quicker than their ascent had been. Tony felt the drag of the rapid pace about half way down, but ignored it as best he could as he matched the commander step-for-step. It was honestly lucky neither of them rolled an ankle or something equally asinine, but they made it back to the safe-house in under twelve minutes.

Tony felt a swell of frustration once they did arrive at knowing he couldn’t scope out the scene himself, and rather would be confined to the house while the task force alone went to investigate. Still, he knew it was for the best, and so it was with impatience that he waited on news of their latest piece of the puzzle.

He wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong. He’d been absolutely positive his presence would stall whatever plan they’d been sticking to- that his complaints would cause them to reconsider whatever strategy they were working. He was questioning everything, turning things over and over again in his head while he waited. He spent the ensuing hours in tense silence, his body wound tight as a bow string by the time the team called the safe house to report in. Chin, who’d stayed behind to work on the tech side of things, brought the Commander up on the screen to share his report with those who’d remained behind.  

“…Max puts TOD at 36-40 hours ago…” Steve’s voice was calm and factual as he spoke, but he might as well have screamed the information for as suddenly as Tony’s attention zoned in on what he’d said, feeling cold as he did the math. That put time of death sometime Sunday afternoon, it now being Tuesday evening. If he’d exposed himself that day instead of waiting until Monday, they might have prevented the death. His mind raced over the possibilities and ‘what-if’s,’ despite knowing better than to go there.

He felt a little reticent in thinking it, but a large part of him was glad the murder had occurred as long ago as it did, because it reassured him that he’d been correct in reading the opposition. It gave him back a bit of confidence that their ruse might just work after all, when he’d been so off kilter just before. Mind spinning, Tony excused himself for the night as soon as the call was disconnected, retreating to the privacy of his room to pass the evening in thoughtful isolation.

~*~

Wednesday came  a day of bizarre stillness. They still hadn’t received communication from the cousins or their mysterious associate, and the silent Friday deadline approached unknowingly closer to those encased within the safe house. Chin and Kono had been present for the majority of the day, and had only just switched places with their other two teammates for the night.

It was creeping up on eleven o’clock and Tony found himself unable to sleep, despite the lack of sleep he’d gotten the previous night as well. The house was silent, the two members of the task force tucked away in the surveillance room as they often were at such times.

Tony emerged silently from his room and made his way to the kitchen for a drink of water to combat the humidity of the night air. Glass in hand, he made his way to the dark living room to flip the TV on, turning the volume down immediately before it could shatter the stillness of the eve. He flipped through the channels carelessly, waiting for something to catch his attention.

‘The Sound of Music’ was playing on one of the channels, and only about twenty minutes in, so he left it on and slouched deeper into the cushions of the sofa. Another fifteen or so minutes passed before he was disturbed- first by the sound of someone shuffling around in the kitchen and then by the Commander moving through into the living room and joining him on the couch.

“What the hell are you watching?” He asked after a couple minutes silence.

Tony glanced at him sideways, brow raised in obvious judgement. “You’ve never seen The Sound of Music?” He questioned in lieu of answering directly.

“Ahh,” The man stated at hearing the title, still watching the children frocking on the screening as they sung. “no. I’ve heard of it, but can’t say I’ve ever watched it.”

“It’s a classic.” He sounded almost offended on behalf of the movie, and Steve couldn’t help but smile at the other man’s put-upon expression. “Everyone should watch it at least once.”

“Alright.” Steve said more gamely than his expression read as he glanced back at the screen in doubt. “What have I missed then?” He asked, deciding to give it a shot.

Tony met his eyes, studying him to see if he was being sincere or making a dig at him for watching a musical, but the man seemed honest as he waited to be filled in. Slightly hesitant, Tony began speaking again quietly, the man nodding along at various points as Tony explained not only what he’d missed thus far, but also expanding into some random facts about the filming of the movie and the actors themselves as it became clear the SEAL wasn’t bored of listening to him patter on.

Rather the opposite, Steve found himself enraptured by how animated the other man became the deeper he got into his story telling. While the movie wasn’t something he’d ever really care to watch by himself, he found that he didn’t mind in the least when it was accompanied by the other man’s presence- not even when he realized the film was nearly three hours long, bolstered further by the occasional commercial. No, he didn’t mind at all.

~*~

_tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I am so sorry for the delay and the relatively short chapter. RL has been a bit hectic lately. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter, and I can’t wait to hear what you think! Thank you so much for reading, and to those of you who have left feedback thus far! Until next time!


	8. Chapter 8

If you 'd like to listen to the song referenced in this chapter, ‘A Sign of Things to Come,’ it can be found here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8LjyyZu2SA>

 

~*~

 

Thursday began in much the same way as Wednesday. Though he’d managed to relax and actually enjoy himself for a couple of hours the night before, he was still tense and on edge upon waking. The feeling on anticipation was on the air and he was certain something was going to happen soon. The worst part of being undercover was having to wait for things to progress naturally.

A part of him wanted to reach out and make contact- use the newest body to cause a stink about further trouble and try to gain information through that route. Another part of him felt like he should wait longer before initiating contact again. It had the power to show him in a weak light and could make him look suspicious if he tried to push too far too fast.

Thus, he was hesitant to move too soon, not wanting to show any stress or weakness that could give him away by appearing too eager for information. He had to find the correct balance between the two, and he finally decided he’d initiate contact at 3:00 if he hadn’t heard anything by then. Something told him they didn’t have much more time to waste, and none of the other leads they were following seemed to lead anywhere useful.  

Kono and Chin were on site, as had become typical during the daylight hours. It was currently lunch time, and Tony was in the kitchen with Kono, throwing together sandwiches to eat and making casual conversation. The easy camaraderie the two had formed during that first car ride had continued over the course of the mission, and Kono had already mentioned staying in touch once the assignment was finished. Tony honestly enjoyed the petite woman’s company and so was more than happy to maintain a friendship with her beyond the bonds of work.

They’d stumbled almost accidently onto the subject of Kono and her boyfriend Adam Noshimuri, whom apparently used to be the heir to the local Yakuza Don on the island before he attempted to shift the business back into the legal side of things. She filled him in on a bit of their recent jaunt across the globe while the two went into hiding, and of the close calls they had along the way.

From there, the subject veered natural towards self-defense styles and techniques, and then hand-to-hand and sparing. Discussing theory only went so far, and so the two eventually ended up on a particular soft piece of property behind the house, putting the theory into practice. They remained outside for nearly two hours, trading tips and burning off some of their pent up energy. Stan and Almeida joined them after a bit, the two taking up a similar stance nearby and the four occasionally trading sparing partners.

Though Kono was relatively new to law enforcement, having joined the Five-O task force immediately out of the police academy, Steve was obviously a damned good boss because she’d been trained very well in military hand-to-hand style combat, along with the skills that were born and bred in the academy. And- regardless of her frankly tiny stature- she held her own surprisingly well against all three of the older and more experienced men.

Despite her skill, her relative green-ness made it so there was a lot she hadn’t yet come across or had the chance to learn. Tony showed her some of the techniques that he’d picked up over the years, skills that ranged from his own training at FLETEC, to a few other military tricks he’d picked up on from Gibbs, some secret service maneuvers from Kate and some ninja-like moves from sparing with Ziva, to tricks he’d picked up when he ran as a beat cop on the grungy back streets of Philly, to the dirty tricks he learned during his time in the mob, and even to the straight-up filthy bar-brawl style he’d somehow managed to pick up along the way at some point. Tony’s fighting style was a mash-up of his experience, and reflected just how multi-faceted he truly was in his own skill.

It was just past two o’clock, and they knew they needed to break the impromptu session up soon. They’d let Steve and Danny know of the impending contact, and so they were on their way to the house for the set up and would likely be there any minute. Stan and Almeida had already finished their own final spar and were standing back towards the house, watching and talking quietly between themselves.

Tony and Kono were locked together in a hold that they both broke free from and stepped back almost simultaneously. They sorted themselves out, Tony taking a moment to adjust the basketball shorts that had been pulled askew when they’d been grappling on the ground a minute before. Kono shook her head at him with a smile, her own hands still raised and ready but not taking advantage of his distraction. Tony raised his own brow back at her in challenge, doing in short little dance of fancy footwork to further delay before fixing his own stance. His antics drew a loud laugh from the woman.

He spring forward suddenly and unexpectedly, coming in low and aiming for her legs. She responded immediately, counterbalancing his attempt to fold her knee and stepping into him to take advantage of his lower stance, bring her elbow down sharply between his shoulder blades. He rolled with the force of the blow, dropping into a summersault and popping up behind her a split second later. She was already turning to face him, but be managed pin her against him in a secure hold before she could manage it.

He wrapped his arms around hers’ hunching over and preparing to topple them by tripping her up with his leg. He wasn’t expecting her to push her weight off the ground and backwards, having been exerting his own strength and force downwards on her small form, and so the unexpectedness of her move was enough to knock him backwards.

She fell with him, flipping herself over his head and onto the balls of her feet once he’d landed on his back.  She grabbed hold of his wrists and attempted  to restrain his arms, but he overpowered her with his own strength. He twisted loose, coming back up into a loose crouch. She mirrored his position, watching him closely as they faced off. They came together again in a flurry of rapid movements, in an exchange of grabs and escapes, lunges and dodges, hits and blocks, until finally Tony was able to pin Kono on her stomach on the ground, both arms pulled securely behind her and her lower body pinned in place by Tony’s own legs.

Applause came to life around them and both looked up at the unexpected amount of noise. Steve and Danny had apparently arrived unnoticed, and stood alongside the two other observers. Tony released his hold and offered a hand to the woman, who accepted easily with a grin. “That was fun!” She exclaimed brightly. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Anytime.” Tony offered in return, his own smile more muted than her own but just as honest.

“You should spar with Steve sometime, too. He’d give you a run for your money!” She stated next, stretching as she moved back towards the house and the group waiting for them. Tony glanced over at the man in question, the though seeming much less innocent when involving the recent focus of his sexual tension, only to find those eyes already locked on him. The look that was exchanged was heated, both men imaging such an event and what such full body contact might lead to. It was definitely a thought to consider, though perhaps their spar should be a private one. 

Tony tore his eyes away at realizing how off track his thoughts were becoming and he saw the Commander smirk slightly from his peripheral vision as he came level with and moved past the man, a smug edge to the expression. Tony ignored it, responding to Kono instead with a, “Yeah, maybe.”

They entered the house and split up, the four who’d been sparing needing to freshen up after so long in the warmth of the afternoon. They reconvened about twenty minutes later around the large dinning table, as had become their norm for such situations. It was a few minutes after three when Tony dialed on speaker phone, but the exact timing wasn’t important.

The phone rang three, four, five times and then clicked to the sound for voice mail, no recorded message or anything else to greet the caller. Tony allowed the message to record for a handful of seconds before he hung up, not saying anything at all.

He remained thoughtful when he disconnected, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him and resting his mouth against them as he ran over his options. There were three reasons the man might not have answered. The first was that he was simply preoccupied to the point he was unable to, in which he would return the call shortly and likely apologize for the slight. The second was that he’d been unsuccessful in getting him a meeting and was afraid to pass on the news and/or trying to buy himself more time. The third was that he’d discovered something off about Tony’s hastily built cover and was suspicious.

Each of the options would need to be handled quite differently, and so it was vital he figure out which it was. The first option was moot point, because it would resolve itself. The second would require Antonio in his full glory and the third a great deal of caution. It could also be a combination of reasons, which could become even more complicated. “Have either of the cousins been at the bar yet today?” He questioned towards Chin, who had been maintaining surveillance for most of the day. The man shook his head silently in response. 

Tony nodded slowly himself and then stood from the table. “Get ready, boys, we’re taking a trip.” He announced before leaving the room. He returned to his bedroom and exchanged his clothes for another of his bespoke suits- this one inky black on black, the only color being the poisonous green of his tie and matching pocket square that set off the green in his eyes. He once again dawned his special occasion watch and overpriced cologne and then returned downstairs.

Almeida and Stan had followed instruction and had changed into suits of their own, while Five-O had gotten set up for their own part. Steve and Danny left first to head back into the city via the hidden access road, so that they would be on hand should backup or extraction be needed in a hurry. They waited ten minutes to leave a gap between trips and then the three men set out down the main road.

They made their way leisurely through town, following traffic laws to a T and seeming completely unhurried as they approached the bar. Almeida opened his door while Stan made his way up to open the front door of the bar as before. Unlike before, the door seemed to be locked and didn’t budge. Unphased, the three made their way around to the side door where a man now stood guard, bulge of his gun visible under his shirt.

“Sorry.” The man said, not sounding it at all. “We’re not open to the public.”

Tony smiled coldly, feeling more confident. This spoke of caution rather than suspicion, and caution was good. He replied, “Non sono il pubblico. Muoversi. [I’m not the public. Move.]”

The man lifted one hand to brush against his poorly hidden gun and Tony sneered in disgust at the weak intimidation tactic. Back in Baltimore, Antonio had been known for his preference of knives over guns. To them, it was because knives were a much more diverse and discreet tool, wielded by the hand of a master. To Tony, it was for both of those reasons but also several more. One of the main reasons was simply that, while knives were much more fined tuned and capable of causing pain, they were less likely to be lethal than using a gun as his primary weapon.

In the beginning of his rise through the ranks, he’d been tested often and thoroughly. He’d been commanded to do things that made his stomach churn still to this day, and expected by his superiors to follow through on those instructions without question, in order to ensure the survival and continued usefulness of his cover.

He found some kernel of solace in knowing that, though he was essentially torturing men at the pleasure of the boss, he’d managed to keep his death toll limited to one hand. It was a cold comfort, but considering the alternative number of bodies he’d have left if he’d chosen to simply shoot his headaches like most others in his position, it was one he accepted readily.

The man standing guard before him was young and unfamiliar. He obviously didn’t know who Antonio was, or he didn’t buy into what he’d heard. He was cocky, even standing one against three, but he wouldn’t be for long. The guard wasn’t expecting Tony to pull the small knife free from it’s spot hidden in his sleeve, or for him to press it against his vulnerable throat so quickly. It wouldn’t do well for his status to be denied so blatantly by a peon, and he needed to curb the situation before it could be used against him. Ah, the annoyance of having to rebuild his reputation for all of the new players.. With his other hand and while the man was still frozen against the press of his blade, Tony pulled the mans gun free from its hidden holster and handed it behind himself to be taken by one of his men.

Once his hand was free he moved it back to tuck into the mans front pocket, causing his eyes to bulge in shock and confusion at the almost intimate feeling touch. Tony smirked at him as he pulled his phone free, holding it up and tapping it harshly against the mans chest. “Be a good dog and bark for your master. I want to talk to him.” He commanded in English before grabbing the mans shirt and twisting him around and shoving him off to the side of the building, releasing the phone at the same moment so that it fell with the man to the ground.

Stan pulled the door open for him and Tony entered without another glance down. The bar was just as full as before, though a few of the faces were different. The same bartender stood behind the polished wood, and Tony approached his casually. The patrons were watching him cautiously, but no one had stood to stop or confront him.

“What can I get for you?” The bartender asked when he came to a stop, lacking the resistance he’d held in serving him before.

“Scotch, neat.” The man grabbed one of the better bottles and poured him a generous measure. He didn’t give a price and Tony didn’t offer to pay for it.

“Thank you.” He stated simply, accepting the glass and turning away. His eyes scanned the room once more as he took the first sip. He could have moved to the table he’d been at before, but he walked towards the silent piano instead. He ran the fingers of his free hand over the wood reverently as he took another sip.

He sat on the padded bench without permission and raised the cover to expose the keys hidden beneath. He missed his piano back at his apartment in DC and he didn’t see any reason not to take advantage of the stunning piece at his fingertips while he waited. He handed his glass to Almeida to set aside and then raised both hands into position. The notes of ‘A Sign of Things to Come’ came automatically to his fingertips and he let it flow freely into the stifled silence of the room.

When that song finished, he moved to another without pause. Roberto must have been close by, because it didn’t take long for him to enter the bar himself, two men of his own at his back. He approached Tony and came to a stop several steps away, waiting to be acknowledged. Tony ignored his presence while he finished the song unhurriedly, the last few notes trailing away slowly on the air.

Only then did he rise back to his feet, his glass automatically finding its way back into his hand as he ran his eyes over Roberto, searching for any tells the may might betray. He didn’t offer the familiar greeting he had before and its absence was noticed by the room. “Antonio,” Roberto finally spoke when it became clear the other wasn’t going to. “I am told you wish to speak with me. Won’t you join me?” He didn’t gesture to the table they’d used before, but rather the door beside the bar.

Tony nodded slightly stepping to follow, and the entourage made their way through the door and up a hidden staircase to the mans private office. He was quick to move behind his desk, offering Tony the guest chair with a curtness that had Antonio curling his lip. He accepted the seat without fuss, allowing his amusement to show and mock the other man just slightly for the defensiveness in the move.

“I admit I’m disappointed in you.” Tony announced without further ado, taking control of the conversation despite disadvantage his seat offered him. “Though I suppose that’s my fault for giving you more credit than you deserve.”

Roberto frowned slightly in reply. “Why is that, might I ask?”

Tony clucked his tongue lightly. “Another body? Not returning my call? Trying to bar me from your little clubhouse here? You didn’t _really_ think it would be that easy to ignore me, did you?”

“I wasn’t-“

“Because you used to be smarter than that, Roberto.” Tony cut him off before he could offer defense. “You know I’m not a patient man, so why don’t you explain just why you’ve decided that it’s a good idea to keep me waiting?”

Roberto took a second before speaking up, perhaps waiting to make sure the other had finished in truth. “I apologize if my actions portray disrespect, Antonio.” He stated, sounding sincere. “We are in the midst of a very detailed maneuver with little room for error. I don’t mean to leave you waiting, I’m afraid I simply find myself with little time left in my day to devote to other issues at present time.”

“Humm. And what is your explanation for the newly installed guard on the door attempting to turn me away?”

“These are dangerous times, it pays to be safe. I assure you he was not placed there to keep you out, but rather to keep my patrons safe.” Roberto defended softly.

“And Mr. Wei?”

“Ahh. Mr. Wei’s unfortunate death occurred on Sunday. It was simply bad timing that it was discovered after our conversation, though I suspect you already know that.”

Tony nodded his head slightly in agreement. Had he pretended to be unaware, his persona would have been much angrier over the slight. “I suppose I can accept all of that.” He offered lightly, though his tone portrayed a note of skepticism. “Though I do have one more question..” He continued in a lower voice, “What of the meeting I requested?”

“My associate has agreed to meet with you, though he will be unavailable until Saturday. He.. Apologizes for the inconvenience,” Tony suspected the apology more likely came from Roberto himself, but he didn’t call him on it. “He requests you join him for dinner upon his return to the island.”

“That’s acceptable.” Tony allowed, hiding his frown at the delay as his bad feeling intensified. “When and where?”

“The details will be sent to you.” 

Tony studied him for a long moment, taking the time to finish his drink and then settling the glass down on the mans desk with a light clunk. “Fine.” He pushed himself back out of his seat and turned to saunter out of the room, not bothering to offer a farewell in order to showcase his continued ire with the man, his weakly attempted contrition notwithstanding.

Stan and Almeida fell into step with him automatically when he passed back through the doorway where they waited, flanking him protectively and continuing to do a wonderful job of acting the part of his stoic bodyguards. Tony felt another flash of gratitude towards SecNav for giving into his request so easily. He wondering vaguely what favor the man might request of him in return, but knew it would be worth the price when it came.

They passed easily back through the bar, ignoring the looks focused on them as they exited into the sunshine of the evening, and then it was back to the safehouse for more scintillating monotony.  

 

~*~ tbc ~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible person to keep you all waiting for so long again. I do have a few projects I'm currently working on- The rewrite of my James Bond/Alex Rider crossover 'Under Suspicion,' a oneshot Harry Potter/Marcus Flint fic that I just posted yesterday, this of course, and a couple of other random one-shots I may or may not post at some point. I have learned not to force myself to work on stories when I just can't get into the flow of them, so I am sorry for the delay and I will hopefully get the next chapter out sooner than this one was. 
> 
> Thank you to those of you who have left feedback- I am always open to hear what you have to say, be it things you like, hate, or would like to see happen. Your comments and kudos truly keep my muse flowing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last little bit of fluff before things get real, topped off with a bit of a violent flashback and a wee bit of a cliff hanger. Stay tuned, things are about to heat up!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: The flashback in this chapter is a little dark and a little gory. If that kind of thing bothers you, well, than you probably don't watch either show. Still, fair warning ;)

When Steve and Danny arrived back at the safehouse sometime later, rather than bearing take out as had become the norm, they instead entered with an armful of grocery bags each. The day prior, he’d been talking to Danny at one point and expressed his boredom with the situation, the ongoing dullness that came from his months confined to a ship, and how much he was dreading his return once the undercover work was finished.

He’d also mentioned in passing how long it had been since he’d been able to cook authentic Italian food, and how much he missed the relaxation of moving through the steps of preparing a good meal. Though Danny had apparently only began learning more recently how to cook himself, he did grow up with an Italian grandmother who he’d accompanied shopping often in his youth. Because of that, he was familiar with the base ingredients required to make a hearty Italian meal from scratch.

He was delighted by the gesture, smiling honestly and brightly as he began sorting through the bags to see what he had to work with. They’d brought him a bag of semolina flour rather than dry or frozen pasta, and so he happily threw together a batch of basic flour-and-water dough. At home, he rarely found the time to cook during the week, or even on weekends when the team was on call. So, the first off-rotation weekend the team had each month, he’d take a day and prepare a variety of noodles and basic sauces to stack individually in his freezer that he could mix and match to his taste any given night.

It allowed him to have fresh and hot home-made meals without the time, the hassle, and the mess such things normally took and left behind. Additionally, it saved him from an endless stretch of takeout meals and fast food most of his single colleagues eventually fell into a habit of. Because he was so used to the process, it took no time at all to have a batch of pasta ready to sculpt into simple cavatelli noodles. He wished he had some of his little tools or even a pasta press, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, and the taste would be delicious regardless of the basic shape. He’d make a simple but delicious tomato and pepper red sauce with diced grilled chicken to it with, along with a simple salad and a crostini for the sides.

The others moved freely in and out of the kitchen as he was working, but only one kept him company for the duration, offering his own hands and helping roll out the little noodles with his fingers after Tony showed him how. He was a quick study, and had the quick rolling motion down after only a couple of tries. It was just the two of them for the moment, and they’d been making easy conversation as they worked.

“So,” Steve began, speaking up after a comfortable lull blanketed the kitchen for a minute or two. “You know your way around a gun, you can fight, you can speak two? Languages?-“ He broke the sentence off, looking over at Tony with a questioning look.

“Four, technically. I speak Italian and Spanish fluently, but I’m also passible in Mandarin.”

“Four languages,” He corrected himself lightly. While he himself spoke far more than that, they were all primarily based around the Middle East or Asia, and had been learned more out of necessity than anything due to his work. For a person outside of Military Intelligence to learn four languages was impressive and definitely something that Steve could respect, “-you play piano, you make your pasta from scratch… is there anything you can’t do?” He finished jokingly, but with a serious and appreciative note.

“Well, I’m pretty much worthless when it comes to anything related to power tools… Or, well, hand tools of any kind, really.” Tony returned easily, the smile on his face open and inviting as he enjoyed the small flirtations. That was hardly his worst failing, but considering the new dynamic they’d hardly starting to work towards, he figured best to keep things light. It’d been a long time since he felt so at ease with anyone that it was getting harder and harder to maintain that professional line, especially considering the uniqueness of their situation and the close quarters they found themselves isolated in for such long stretches of time.

“We all have our flaws, I suppose.” Steve teased as he finished what he was doing, wiping his hands and turning to face him more fully. He leaned his hip against the counter causally, and Tony couldn’t help but run his eyes down the attractive sight.  

Tony’s nose curled slightly at the comment, though he remained unoffended as he replied. “You know, not sure I really consider it a flaw.” He paused as tilted his head a bit. “Though my old man probably would, if he knew.”

Steves eyes narrowed in out of interest, it being the first time Tony had mentioned any of his family, or that he even had one. “Your dad doesn’t know you’re not good with tools?” He questioned, sounded baffled.

“We’re not close.” Tony brushed off, regretting mentioning the man at all. Really, he wasn’t sure why he had, Senior wasn’t someone he usually thought about often, after all, let alone talk about him with others. “But the last gift I got from his secretary was power sander so…” He shrugged, changing the subject before the man could inquire further on the subject. “And how about you, Mr. Super SEAL?” He asked, using Danny’s title for the man for further distraction. “Any fatal flaws you’d like to share?”

Steve grinned then, and it was boyish and charming, and it caused the lines beside his eyes to deepen as it transformed his face from his normal stoic expression to something much more bright and youthful. He pushed off his position on the counter and took another step towards Tony. They’d already been working in fairly close quarters, so the moved made it so they nearly stood in each other’s space, a mere foot or so of floor left between them.  “Humm,” He hummed thoughtfully for a second before shaking his head. “None.”

“None?” Tony pressed teasingly. “Is that none that you have, or none that you want to share.” He wanted to lean forward and kiss him, wanted to bring things to the point he could feel them heading towards. He could almost forget where they were, could almost pretend that they were on a quiet date night at the other mans house, cooking a meal together as they learned more about each other. He could almost forget, almost, but not enough to actually take that step, much as he might want to.

“None that I want to share of course. Not yet anyway. Have to make sure you’re more invested first, so it can help counterbalance all of them.” Though he still sounded like he was joking, his eyes had taken on a more serious edge and his shoulders a new tension as he spoke the words. His body language more than his voice told Tony that the words were more honest than he meant to convey.  

Considering the mans background, Tony would be willing to bet he had PTSD. He’d rarely met a soldier of Steves caliber that didn’t have it in some form or other, usually accompanied by a whole slew of other issues. He wondered then if Steve was alluding to issue stemming from that part of his life, or from something else entirely.

Nightmares and insomnia were common issues after returning home, he knew, both of which could and often did put strain on the soldiers relationships. Did Steve have bad experiences with dating before? Had someone reacted poorly to his tightly honed senses or resulting behavior? Tony wasn’t sure, but he was becoming more and more sure that he wanted to find out, to get to know this guarded man better all around, the good and bad alike.

Long distance relationships weren’t that crazy now a days. They both had demanding jobs, sure, but technology had come a long way and they could always catch a military hop flight back and forth from Hickam to DC when they had the free time. And honestly, if he didn’t get reassigned soon he might literally jump ship, so who’s to say he couldn’t relocate?

Of course he was still getting a bit ahead of himself, and all of his thoughts were dependent on if the man was even interested in a long term relationship. It sure sounded like he was, though, and Tony was definitely becoming more and more interested in exploring the option himself, the longer he spent around the enigma of a man. “Humm,” Tony finally replied, more quietly than he’d been speaking before, allowing his flirty tone to drop into something more honest. “I think it’s safe to say that I’m well on my way to being there.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, stepping even closer. They were practically sharing air as they stood with barely an inch between their height.  

“Yeah.” Tony confirmed, voice hardly more than a whisper. Steve started to lean in just slightly, he could feel the brush of heat against his own bottom lip from the mans exhale, he let his eyelids grow heavy in expectation of the coming pressure,

And then the sound of a foot scuffing purposefully against the floor was heard, along with the sound of Danny clearing his throat pointedly as he moved to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He didn’t say anything, didn’t even really glance over at them, but the moment was broken all the same. Steve had taken a step back and Tony was reminded just where they were and just how inappropriate such behavior was while mid-assignment.

Ignoring the buzz of attraction and desire still surging through his veins, Tony turned his attention back to the sauce that was bubbling away on the stove. They were pretty much just waiting for things to finish up by that point, so there really wasn’t any reason for Steve to remain with him in the kitchen. Tony was expecting it when the man excused himself to join the others, but he was less prepared for the light brush of warmth against his lower back where Steve lightly placed his hand on his way passed Tony to the entry way. He could feel it lingering well after he was left alone, and it definitely didn’t help bring his mind back to the task at hand.

~*~

Friday morning, Tony woke with an even worse feeling in his gut that things were coming to head. He rose early and was tempted to go for a run through the property to relieve some of his stress, but was hesitant to even leave the safehouse incase something should occur while he was away.  He was then tempted to start servicing their weapons again, simply for something to keep his hands busy, but decided he didn’t want anything taken apart or out of place should it be needed in a hurry.

Steve and Danny were still on shift when he woke, but they were replaced by Chin and Kono soon after. Tony eventually withdrew back into his bedroom, isolating himself to once again pour over pages and pages of intel and data he’d already read a dozen times since reaching Hawaii, unable to shake the feeling he was missing something important.

His eyes kept straying back to a single page, though he couldn’t find any reason for it to catch his attention no matter what angle he looked at it from. It wasn’t anything particularly special, simply a list of financials they’d pulled from the old case files back in Baltimore. He’d already read and reread all of the numbers and transactions listed, hoping something my trigger why he was so caught up on it, but nothing stood out as unusual.

Thinking he might be too focused, he sat back and tried to thing about things more vaguely, allowing his mind to wander from one though to the next without trying to drive his attention in any particular direction. Things in Boston had been different because the syndicate had already been established when Tony had entered into it. It had been established clear back in the 1920s, when the Gambino family moved into port, and so had nearly a century to grow.

Thus, when Tony entered onto the scene, the Famiglia was far beyond the point of needing to fight for territory. Rather, it had a root system so deep that it could withstand most anything, which is what made it so difficult to take down. Still, the Cousins seemed to be playing on old family tactics and simply twisting them to fit the current situation. He apparently didn’t know either of them well enough to fully predict their next move, else he’d have some idea on what was leaving him so on edge, but perhaps he didn’t have to. How would Michele have handled things, had he been in charge of the move? How would Antonio?

The first step would be establishing a foothold in which to operate from, which he already knew occurred three months prior with the acquisition of the bar.

The second step would be making their presence known to the right people in the right way to communicate their goals and end point (or at least, so much as they wanted known at that point in time). Considering the first (and one of the most brutal) of the murders occurred just after the purchase of the bar, they obviously weren’t wasting any time in progressing.   

The third step would be expanding their territory. This would likely require a combination of the formation of new relationships while at the same time destroying and/or overtaking other fractions until they formed and solidified their own borders. On an island such as Oahu, that step had the potential to be especially dangerous. There simply wasn’t any “wiggle room” for borders to shift to accommodate the change, or for territories to grow in another direction to make up for a new deficit. Thus, for a completely new fraction to move in, the only way they could establish themselves would have to be bloody and fierce else they wouldn’t make any headway. Well, unless of course someone else ceded their own territory willingly, but the odds of that happening were insurmountable. 

Had Antonio been in charge, he would have focused his attention on taking out one single group. It was a much safer strategy to focus their attention on a smaller target and then press forward to take the entirety of their territory. Utilizing that strategy, they’d be able to make allies with their chosen targets own opposition, take down their targets and then bulldoze over everything so that they could build their own empire within the already established borders. It would leave more avenues available for business with the other syndicates on the island without bring more heat down on them than they could easily handle.

For them to target members of every fraction on the island was bold and messy, and it was throwing Tony off. What was the point? Why bring the attention of every organized crime syndicate on the island down on themselves? Sure, he supposed choosing their own borders would be more desirable than moving into ones already set into place, but they were undertaking an impossible fight. There was simply no way they had a strong enough presence established to take on the fury of so many enraged mafiosos out for their blood. They’d leave themselves trapped and surrounded both, it just didn’t make any sense.

But then, they hadn’t actually targeted anyone truly important in the grand scheme of things. They’d targeted peons, really, limiting themselves to soldiers and enforcers. However bold and creative the deaths were, they didn’t really impact anything large scale, beyond ruffling feathers and building tension. That had to be a purposeful move, but to what end? He was missing something, he knew he had to be missing something. A memory stirred suddenly and, though it was one (of many) he usually tried his hardest not to think about, he allowed it to wash over him, closing his eyes to better focus on it.

 

**_~*~ Flashback~*~_ **

_He was in the back of the car with Michele, relaxing against the comfortable leather seat and watching the city pass by out the tinted, bulletproof, window. He’d been undercover for more than nine months at that point in time and had hardened into his life. He hadn’t even spoken with his handler in nearly a month, it being too dangerous now that he was practically living at the compound, and so it had been nearly a month since he’d even attempted to separate Tony from Antonio._

_The car turned off the main road and veered towards a dilapidated part of the warehouse district near the port. They drove down a ramp and into a large underground space that was only dimly lit. Antonio exited first, not waiting for the driver to come around, and then held the door for Michele to exit after him._

_He fell into step one behind and to the mans right, the driver falling into step to Antonio’s left and mirroring his position. They didn’t have far to go before they reached their destination. On the far side of the space stood a group of people. Three of them were kneeling on the ground, while half a dozen more stood surrounding them in a semicircle, weapons pointed unwaveringly at them from all sides._

_The man in the middle looked up as they approached, those who’d been watching over them automatically stepping back for the three newcomers to take point, and sneered furiously. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Alexei Kuznetosoy, the middle aged boss of the local Bratva demanded, accent sharp and biting in his rage. The other two men who knelt on either side of him appeared to have been his bodyguards for the day, the poor bastards._

_Michele had been attempting to negotiate with the man for some time, and he’d come to the end of his patience with the whole thing. He needed to acquire a very particular pier, which happened to be under the ownership of one of the Bratva fronts in the city. He’d been very generous in his offer of purchase, but Alexei refused to make the agreement without even having the courtesy to offer a reason for the denial._

_As Michele had explained to his newly appointed Consiglieri, it was time to remind Alexei who held the real power in the city. He did so by having the man abducted from what was supposed to be a very secure penthouse and taken to a warehouse that Alexei himself owned and that stood close to the pier Michele wanted to acquire. Despite being within his own property, it was clear Alexei was at a huge disadvantage and very much at the mercy of his Italian counterpart._

_Michele smiled coldly. “Uccidi le guardie [Kill the guards].” He ordered succinctly, not really directing it at any one person. Still, it was clear who the statement was meant for, and Antonio and Luca (the driver and Michele’s own guard for the day) exchanged a brief look before moving simultaneously. Tony didn’t allow himself to hesitate as he drew the gun that he always carried by tried his best not to use and pointed it directly between the eyes of the guard kneeling closest to him. He saw the gleam of Luca’s own weapon and they pulled their triggers in near the same moment._

_The sound of two gunshots erupting at the same time was defining, but Antonio knew they didn’t need to worry about the noise being reported, not in this part of the city. He watched blankly as the two bodies slumped to the ground, blood and brain matter spattered on the floor and wall farther behind them. He and Luca both stepped back, guns still held lightly in hand, and left Michele standing front and center once more._

_Michele drew his own weapon, and pressed it against the same spot on Alexei, who was quickly becoming surrounded by the growing puddles of blood. Antonio found himself watching as the viscous liquid reached the man and the red began seeping slowly up the fabric of his pants like a sponge, unaware that the sight was one that would latch on and feature in some of his darker dreams to come._

_“I’ve been patient with you, Alexei.” Michele spoke, dragging the cold tip of his gun down the mans temple and cheek, moving until it rested against the underside of his jaw instead, crouching down on the balls of his feet so that their faces were level, even if their current positions were not- one kneeling before the other. “But I’m afraid my patience has run thin. It is time for you to decide which is more important to you- one silly little pier, or your life.”_

_Michele glanced over at one of the men who’d arrived before them. Antonio recognized one of the lawyers on the payroll as the man pulled a small pile of papers free of his briefcase, along with a pen, and moved closer. Alexei took on a look of resignation, seeming to realize he had few options left. Michele smiled again, even colder than before, at realizing he’d won._

_He continued casually as he stepped back, pulling a handkerchief free to blandly wipe the blood off the moisture-proof soles of his shoes and then passing it off to one of the waiting men to dispose of for him. It wouldn’t do to leave bloody impressions of his custom Italian leather shoes behind, after all. The lawyer stepped into his place, using his briefcase as a writing surface and setting out the paperwork for Alexei to sign, the man accepting the pen without further protest. “I am afraid the property value has dropped since my initial proposal, so that has, of course, been factored into the contract. And, since you don’t seem to be using it, I’ll take this property off your hands as well. I trust you don’t have a problem with that?”_

_The Russian glanced quickly over the document, frowning slightly when saw the additional property listed and a sale price that was less than a tenth of what he’d initially been offered. Still, he made no protest as he pressed pen to paper to begin making the exchange legal-_

**_~*~ End Flashback ~*~_ **

 

Tony was jerked harshly out of the memory as chaos erupted from downstairs. He jumped back to his feet, his butt numb from how long he’d been seated on the hard floor surrounded by papers, and hobbled quickly down the stairs, following the noise into the kitchen. He was surprised to see Steve and Danny back in the surveillance room, Chin and Kono apparently having left for the evening. He hadn’t realized so much time had passed while he’d been alone.

The bad feeling was back, feeling like a tight ball lodged deeply in his chest as he joined the group and watched at Steve attempted to reach his teammate over the radios they’d been using while on site- cells left back at HQ so as not to somehow be traced to Tony’s location. “Kono!” He was demanding loudly, but didn’t seem to be getting any response.

Steve finally spun back around with a curse, eyes scanning over them all as he filled in the newcomers. “Kono’s called in as soon as she got home, said her house was thrashed, but she cut out mid-sentence and I can’t get her back. We have to go.

~*~

_Tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quite a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter... Anyone figure out where things are going yet? 
> 
> I do feel as though people have lost interest in this story, so I’m not entirely sure how many of you are still here. Things are going to start coming to head, obviously, considering the cliffhanger. I estimate another 3-5 chapters, depending on how things flow and play out. I have the ending pretty much set in my head, but I do still have to write it out and fill in the good, action-y bits some of you may have been waiting for. 
> 
> Because this is getting so close to the wrap up, I am going to focus fully on this one until it is finished. For those of you who may be waiting on an ‘Under Suspicion’ update, I plan to focus fully on that next and have sworn off starting anything new until it's finished, so please be patient with me. 
> 
> I do very much appreciate those of you who have left feedback and stuck with me thus far. Thank you so much for reading


	10. Chapter 10

It was even harder having to stay behind the second time. Though the visitors hadn’t known Kono long, her bright smile and friendly personality had endured her to all three men, and so it was especially difficult knowing they were essentially left sitting on their hands while the remaining members of the Five-O task force raced to her house to investigate what could have happened.

Chin of course was closest, having already been nearby at his own home for the night, and so had already been on site for a bit when Steve and Danny finally made it through the busy city. The two entered the living room to find their teammate taking in the scene with the familiarity of a seasoned detective, his own distress with the situation leaving him with a pinched expression, though he otherwise maintained impressively impeccable control over himself.

“What have we got?” Steve questioned immediately as they came to a stop beside the man, clasping his shoulder lightly in a show of support for a moment before letting go and crossing his arms.

Chin shook his head, brows furrowed as his emotions broke through and exposed a mixture of distress, anger, and determination- along with a fair bit of confusion. “The door was locked when I got here and everything looked pristine when I pulled up outside. If Kono hadn’t radioed in when she did-“ His voice broke and he paused to clear his throat harshly. Steve and Danny dropped their eyes to give him a moment to regain his composure. He continued a moment later, voice tight. “If Kono hadn’t radioed when she did, we wouldn’t have known she was missing until morning when she would be late for work. And, I’m pretty sure Adam was here too.”

“Adam? I didn’t see his car outside.”

“No, it wasn’t. But his phone’s plugged in in the bedroom- right next to Kono’s.” Chin replied gravely. “I know that’s where they keep their chargers, but Adam’s not the type to leave his phone behind, and there’s no way she would have taken the time to go and plug her own in considering what she walked into. I don’t know if she picked him up on her way home, or if he was already here before she got home? Him being here earlier would explain why the placed was already trashed. They could have taken him out first after a struggle, and then taken Kono when she got home. It would be the safer option to take them down separately.”   

“Okay, but why take the time to plug in their phones?”

“They wanted to make it look like they were still here?” Steve theorized with a frown of his own. “If the phones died, we wouldn’t be able to trace the signal which could clue us in that something’s wrong. They plug the phones in, we get concerned and track them, and it looks like they’re having a romantic lie-in. Maybe they’re hoping it could buy some extra time?”

“So, they’re banking on the idea that- what? We’re not planning to talk to or see Kono any time soon?” Danny questioned.

“It is the weekend. Usually Five-O is off duty unless we have an active case. Since we’re not advertising out current assignment, they could have assumed Kono was free for the weekend and that we wouldn’t expect to hear from her until Monday.” Steve replied logically.

The questions, answers, and general knowledge being exchanged might have seemed obvious, might even have seemed redundant to speak aloud , but it was always better to talk things through. Sometimes the act of simply hearing something aloud could trigger a connection that could be otherwise missed, and sometimes the same information coming from a differing perspective could make all the difference they needed to break things open.

“Or maybe they were plugged in in order to set a scene.” Danny spoke up, arms crossed tightly over his own stocky chest in his agitation. None of them were enjoying having the conversation, but such was a necessary evil. “Kono said the place was thrashed, right? I don’t know about you, but this isn’t what I’d typically describe as ‘Thrashed.’ Assuming it is, in fact, our current suspects who took them. We know they plan out their crime scenes meticulously. What if the house is less than ‘thrashed’ because they’ve already started moving things around to how they wanted them to be found? Really, they couldn’t have expected her to be wearing an earbud off duty. If she hadn’t been, she never would have gotten through to us in time.”

Steve spoke up again, voice low and rough as he continued the thought. “And if she hadn’t gotten through to us for those few seconds, we wouldn’t have known she was missing until she didn’t show up tomorrow. And, seeing as tomorrow is Saturday, they likely expected to have a bigger window before we came looking for them.”

The silence grew as the three considered the situation and facts available to them. All of the crime scenes had been free of trace evidence and most of them were carefully staged. The purety of the scenes suggesting that the victims might have been abducted and then killed elsewhere, their bodies returned to the scenes to play whatever part or relay whatever message the killer was attempting at the time.  The exception was, of course, the few murders that had been committed from a distance. Those had been left undisturbed until the arrival of Max and the forensics team.

It was _possible_ the murders were committed in the same locations they’d been discovered, but things were just too clean, to precise, for that to likely be the case. The murder(s) would have had to scrub everything and there would have been _some_ signs of recent sterilization- the smell of bleach in the air, a dampness to the carpet, fresh mop streaks on the tiles- _something_ , _anything at all_ , but there’d been nothing.

Were things to continue in the same vein as they had been, it was very possible their killer had abducted Kono and Adam, and planned to return to the house to set, or to finish setting, the scene up as they desired, utilizing the bodies as a centerpiece or focal point as they’d been doing thus far over the past three months. It was a horrifying though, and none wanted to voice aloud what they were all thinking. Instead of forcing it, they instead began searching for other possibilities, other avenues to explore.

“When DiNozzo met with Roberto on Tuesday, why did he word things the way he did?” Danny questioned, breaking the tense silence with a change of subject though his brows furrowed.

“What do you mean?” Chin questioned.

“If he was planning to move today, why not say by Friday, or by this weekend? Why say ‘by this time next week?’?” he elaborated.  

“He didn’t want to give away his timeline?” Steve replied, tone a question as much as it was a statement.

“That seems like the obvious answer, but what if there’s more to it than that?” Chin spoke up. “Taking Kono hardly gets us all out of the way like he claimed. There has to be more to it than that. What’s the end play here?”

“Maybe she’s the bait.” Steve answered, voice subdued. “Maybe they took her to lure us into a trap.”

“But then why take Adam?” Danny questioned. “Don’t get me wrong, the guys grown on me, but why would they think her boyfriend would have an effect on the rest of us? Why not just kill him and be done with it? He’d hardly be the first body left behind.”

“Take Adam to get Kono, take Kono to get to the rest of us?” Chin offered quietly. “The only female on our team, it wouldn’t be a stretch to pin her as our weak spot and she’s already shown that he’s hers.”

“That’s very possible, but we can’t rule out the possibility that they took Adam for some other reason. Yes, he might be Kono’s boyfriend, but we can’t forget that he’s also a Noshimuri. Operating on the right side of the law now or not, his family name alone still holds a lot of influence. They could have taken him on his own merit, or because of his own background.” Steve argued logically. They needed to consider all possibilities.

“By that theory, they could have taken Kono to control Adam, and not because of her relation to Five-O at all..”

“No, I don’t think so. Roberto specifically mentioned taking _our team_ out, Kono has to be related to that. It would be too big of a coincidence otherwise.”

“Or it could be a combination of both. What’s better than a two-for-one?” Danny replied, voice taking on a sardonic edge in his agitation. “Use Kono to control Adam, Adam to control Kono and Kono to control us?”

Steve frowned deeply, lines becoming visible across his forehead and emphasizing his steadily increasing age. “Either way, we have to assume Kono’s alive. Chin, I know you already did a sweep, but six eyes are better than two. Let’s go over the place again before Forensics get here.” Chin didn’t argue. Working together, they went over every foot of space from top to bottom and from corner to corner. It wasn’t a huge house and so didn’t take very long at all before they finished.

There were a few clear signs of a struggle left behind; the side table had been knocked just slightly out of place, the usually tidy pile of surfing magazines had been knocked off the coffee table and were scattered haphazardly across the floor as though they’d been kicked or tripped over at some point, a painting on the wall hung just the smallest bit askew, the couch had been shoved a couple of feet backwards, and the surf board that was often left propped against the corner nearest the door had fallen over and lay abandoned on the floor with a carelessness Kono would never allow.  

They were hopeful the forensics team might be able to pick up some trace evidence they couldn’t spot with the naked eye, considering the chaotic and messy nature of the scene. Surely they would find something, somewhere?

Wanting to give the arriving team the space to work, the three retreated from the house and worked as a trio to interview the few neighbors nearby. It was an odd setup compared to the two-man teams they normally utilized, but Steve refused to allow Chin to go on his own without backup, and so a trio they remained. As was becoming familiar with this particular case, none of the neighbors saw or noticed anything unusual- not earlier in the day, or even over the past week. It was like their suspect was a ghost, able to move unseen and unheard despite leaving absolute devastation in their wake. How was it possible to go so long without making a single error?

After they eventually reached a dead end with all of the neighbors, they headed back to the Palace. Once there, they begin searching for every single camera that had stored memory  in the surrounding area- government operated and privately owned alike. Unfortunately, the closest camera to Kono’s house was a personal security system installed three homes down. The lens could only see half of a single lane of the road in front of the house, and it wasn’t very good quality of video besides. Regardless, they reviewing it’s footage first, beginning at the present time and then running the film backwards.

When that camera revealed itself to be yet another dead end, they moved onto the next closest, and then the next, until they’d reviewed the past twenty-four hours’ worth of video from the five closest cameras.  Though they wanted to continue, they simply didn’t have time to review all of the footage themselves, not when they had other leads they could be attempting to track down, but they also couldn’t ignore what might prove to be their biggest clue yet.  

Luckily, they had three sets of idle eyes eager to help and so more than happy to continue reviewing the footage back at the safehouse. While Tony, Stan, and Almeida got to work, Steve and Danny headed out to see Kamekona, hoping the man could reach out to his many contacts and try and catch word of who on the island had been bold enough to attack and abduct a member of Five-O, for surely such an action couldn’t remain quiet for long?

Chin, meanwhile, remained at the Palace to coordinate and chase down a few leads of his own that he’d though up. And so, as the only member of the team left at headquarters, he was also the one to receive the call from Fong requesting someone come to the lab to review some of the results they’d already gotten back from their evidence collection.

 

 

_**~Meanwhile, at an undisclosed location on the island~** _

Kono woke slowly, head aching like the morning after the first and only time she’d gotten blackout drunk. Her entire body ached, and she could feel a wave of pain pulse in time with her elevated heartbeat. She was tempted to try and ignore the waking reality by falling back asleep, if only to escape the agony she was currently in, but something was tickling the back of her mind. Something was off, something felt wrong, and she forced herself to awaken further rather than giving in to her desire for peaceful and pain free oblivion.

She could hear someone talking to her, she realized sluggishly. They sounded familiar and they sounded like they were upset. Her brows furrowed and she forced her eyes to open. Everything was blurry and muddled and she had to blink a couple of dozen times before her vision to start to clear.

“Kono, Koibito [sweetheart], can you hear me? Kono? Koibito, answer me. Kono, please! Koibito!“

Her brows furrowed even further, a quiet and pained moan escaping her parched throat as she forced her head to turn towards the voice to her left. “Adam?” She murmured quietly as her sight finally began to focus enough to make out shapes in the darkness.

“Oh thank God!” She heard him exclaim quietly before responding to her. “Yeah, Koibito, it’s me, I’m right here. Are you okay?” He sounded so worried, why did he sound so worried?

Was she okay? She started taking stock of her body through the haze of pain still engulfing her, wiggling her toes and working her way up until she was able to wrinkle her nose. “Yeah,” She croaked from her position tied tightly to heavy metal chair. “I’m okay. You?” Concern filled her as she made out the blood trickling from a small gash on the right side of his forehead, just under his hairline, along with the split lip that had swollen to what must have been an uncomfortable level.

“I’m fine.” He brushed off uncaringly, straining against his own restraints in a futile effort to get closer to her.

Her eyes dropped as he struggled, mind still a couple of beats behind what was happening. She could a chair identical to the one she was sat in herself, frame a heavy square shape that was sturdy enough that it would be hard to knock over even if it wasn’t bolted to the floor below. “Stop.” Her voice cracked on the word but he responded all the same, freezing in place. “Stop,” She repeated, stronger. “You’re hurting yourself.” She breathed, eyes locked on the chafed flesh of his wrists. She could see blood there too, atop the enflamed and bruised skin that told her he’d been attempting to loosen his bonds for a while, at least.

The expression on his face was quietly heartbroken, even as he made an attempt to lighten the situation. “Though we’d managed to get past these types of situations.” He joked, voice rough. They hadn’t an easy time of their relationship, after all. Why should they expect to get peace now?

She smiled despite the throbbing in her head, even as she tried to figure out what had happened. She remembered driving home, looking forward to spending a couple of hours with Adam before retiring for the night. She’d pulled into her drive and made her way up to the door, looking down for the correct key and not up at the house itself as she approached. It was a rookie move, but who honestly expected someone to be lying in wait inside the security of their own home?

She’d put the key in the door, but when she went to turn it she realized she didn’t need to because it was already unlocked. It was a bizarre realization, as they’d taken to keeping the doors locked at all times- regardless of whether they were home or away- as yet another added layer of protection against the danger of their lives. It might have done more for their peace of mind than any actually defense, but they’d continued the practice regardless.

They’d been home for a while now, perhaps Adam had simply grown complacent and forgotten to lock it after he’d entered? He said he would be waiting for her, and she knew she’d locked it when she left that morning. Her headache increased as she focused on the memory, and she could hear Adam continuing to talk to her, tone growing concerned again as she failed initially to respond, but she needed to figure out what was going on before focusing her attention on him.

She’d turned the handle slowly, cautiously, free hand resting atop her holstered gun but not yet drawing it out. She could see that the house was a mess as soon as she moved far enough inside the doorway, her belongings tossed around and covering the floor chaotically. She’d frozen, still only part way inside, moving to wrap her hand around and draw her gun while the left moved to the radio she still wore in her ear. She’d forgotten to remove it, the sensation having become familiar during the long hours wearing it, and she was grateful for the lapse as her left hand rose to press the button to connect her to her team.

Steve had responded to her call, and she’d stepped the rest of the way inside feeling more secure with him on the line. She should have waiting, she realized sitting on the cold hard metal. She’d started talking to him quietly but quickly, filling him in on the situation as she moved into the entry way with her gun held loosely between both hands and pointing towards the floor in front of her. 

Suddenly, faster than she’d been able to react, a hand had reached around from behind her and ripped her earpiece free while at the same time a damp cloth was against her face with the force of a sledgehammer. Her eyes had watered from the strength of what she assumed was a man’s’ palm slamming against her nose and mouth. She’d raised her hands, prepared to shoot first and ask questions later all things considered, but the hand that had yanked away her only accessible means of communication came back to wrap around and restrain both of her slender wrists effortlessly. She’d tried to fight back with her body, attempted to headbutt him and throw her entire body weight at his knee to try and buckle him.

He’d lifted her clear off her feet like a ragdoll. Her strength and failed her quickly, fruitless struggles growing weaker and weaker with every passing second until the black dotting her vision engulfed her completely. And then… nothing. Not until she’d woken here.

How much time had passed? Her panic increased a notch as the situation began to register. Where were they? The room was large but empty, and could have been a garage, a shop, or even the office of an old warehouse. It was so dimly lit it was hard to make out the details surrounding them, and so she focused her attention back on the man she loved. She cleared her throat, lifting her head up straight as she realized it was still slumped against her shoulder. “What’s happened?” She asked, voice a little stronger.

Adam frowned, expression nearly heartbroken as his eyes scanned over her. “I don’t know.” He admitted lowly. “I went to your place, but they must have been waiting in the house. There were four of them, they surrounded me and were on me before I realized what was happening. I tried to fight back, but-“ He shrugged, the outcome obvious considering the given situation. “The dragged you in here maybe an hour after me? I’m not sure exactly, I don’t really know what time it is, they took my watch, but I’ve been trying to get you to wake up for a while. I didn’t recognize any of them though, and they definitely weren’t Yakuza. Do you know what’s going on?”

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could the door opened and bright overhead lights flicked on, sending her headache spiking higher still and causing her eyes to clench against the pain. When she opened them again, she found half a dozen armed men surrounding her and Adam- Adam who looked much worse under the harsh lighting than he had a moment before in the near darkness.

Three more men entered the room then, the two cousins alongside their enforcer, Marc Ricci. Tony had warned the team about him during their initial briefings- if the mans one record hadn’t been enough of a warning in and of itself- after he’d been tagged outside the bar. Still, sometimes what made a man dangerous wasn’t a simple fact that could or would be written out plain as day in black-and-white. Sometimes what determined a mans danger was more instinctual, it went deeper that what a report could convey.

Ricci was once such man, and his threat level was based more largely on the sheer amount of pleasure he took in preforming and fulfilling his duties. Tony had described him as ‘the Michelangelo’ of enforcers, explaining the man had never failed a task, be it given or self-appointed, due to a combination of skill, tenacity, and an almost licentious passion for meeting those objectives- the bloodier the solution the better.

Kono wasn’t ashamed to feel a surge of cold prickling fear run up her spine at the sight of the man who had his lethal attention split evenly between her and Adam, a curious gleam shinning from his cold blue eyes. Logically, she knew Ricci wouldn’t act without the cousins’ orders, and so they were who she really needed to concern herself with. Still, logic alone was a cold comfort when compared to her every instinct warning her to _get away_.

Roberto was the one who began addressing them, and Kono finally forced herself to look away from Ricci to focus her own attention on the known leader of the little group. “Adam Noshimuri and Kono Kalakaua, welcome. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for some time.”

 

**_~*~_ **

**_Tbc_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I'm glad so many of you are still reading and enjoying this story! Thank you to those of you who checked in, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback! 
> 
> I'm sorry to leave you all with another cliff hanger, but this was getting a little long and it seemed like a good spot to leave off. If it helps, I'm going to try my best to stick to (at minimum) weekly updates until this is finished. I hope this chapter continues to meet your expectations, and I look forward to hearing what you thought! {Also, for those of you who are concerned, please note that I don't have 'Major Character Death' tagged here for a reason ;) }
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible lying liar who lies. Sorry for the wait, I probably shouldn't promise when I'm going to update. So, I will just say I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can! I tried to get this out last night, but I kept passing out trying to proof read. Sorry for the double email, I somehow posted a bizarre half finished draft of the chapter first... I am also posting quickly before I head to work, so please forgive any mistakes you find!! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!!

_Roberto was the one who began addressing them, and Kono finally forced herself to look away from Ricci to focus her own attention on the known leader of the little group. “Adam Noshimuri and Kono Kalakaua, welcome. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for some time.”_

~*~

The middle aged Italian focused his full attention to the left, choosing to ignore Kono completely. “Your father spoke of you fondly, before his unfortunate death.”

Adam stilled to an unnatural level, his very breath freezing in his chest as the simple statement resonated through him and caused a thousand thoughts to pass through his mind seemingly at once. His eyes shifted up after a long moment of contemplation, finally locking on Roberto with a challenging glint in his eye and tone both when he replied with a simple, “Oh?”

He needed more to go on than that small statement before deciding how he should proceed. It was imperative that they keep their heads together- he knew that much from experience- no matter how sore the topic they choose to prod at may have been, or how angry the casual mention of his father’s death made him. The thought of the man went well beyond ‘sore’ and rather bore with it the ache of a wound healed in appearance but still festering deep beneath the scarred over surface. He wouldn’t be ashamed to admit that keeping himself calm and collected was easier said than done just then.   

“Yes,” The man hummed thoughtfully. “My friend here quite  _enjoyed_  getting to know him during his last few days with us.” He gestured to Ricci, whose scared lips twisted in reply.

The enforcers smile was a cruel, twisted and bloodthirsty looking thing. He spoke up for the first time and his voice was quiet and rough from a lifetime tobacco habit. “That I did..” Ricci drawled slowly, “it was just a shame our fun ended so quickly, but, well, when age becomes a factor, things tend to get much more… unpredictable in nature.”

“ _You’re the one_ that killed my father?” Adam questioned, voice low and even more menacing, despite his disadvantaged position.

“Technically,” Ricci corrected, tone edged with a hint of derisive disdain. “Hypovolemic shock killed your father. I, sadly, cannot claim credit for the final blow.”

“Just for all the blows leading up to it?”

“Your father had a frankly pathetically weak constitution. I merely inflicted a few small wounds, hardly more than papercuts, really. I’d be embarrassed for him, if I were you.”

 “Small wounds!” Adam demanded furiously, voice rising past the grind of his teeth despite his best effort. “I got him back in pieces!”

Kono was watching with wide eyes from her seat, lingering fog still clouding her mind from being knocked out dissipating quickly in the dangerous environment. Her concern for Adam’s state of mind grew just as quickly as a bits and pieces of the puzzle started to come together. She knew she needed to intervene, and intervene quickly, so she spoke up before the enforcer could voice whatever reply she could him formulating. “Wo Fat ordered Hiro’s death. You work for Wo Fat?” It was a question, but she didn’t need an answer to know she was right.

Adam’s eyes jumped over to her, and she could see just how much tension he was carrying in that moment. Roberto looked over at her too, his own eyes moving slowly across the room in disinterest. “ _With_ , Ms. Kalakaua. I don’t work  _for_  anyone.”

“That’s interesting.” She replied boldly, challenging him in a bid to gain more information. “Because my team has spent a lot of time tracking him down, and I know for a fact that he’s not  the type of guy who plays well with others. No, he’s more the type to use you to further his own ends, and then shoot you in the back once you’re no longer valuable to him.”

He didn’t take the bait implied in her taunt, but rather smirked roguishly down at her. He was an attractive man, blessed with a pleasant combination of features and characteristics, and he bore himself with a poise and charisma that made him seen almost charming despite everything. “Considering Five-O’s track record with my associate, you’ll have to forgive me for trusting my own judgement on the matter over yours.”

She could see it then, what made him so dangerous. DiNozzo had told them the man was charming. ‘More confessions than prisoners,’ he’d said. They couldn’t make a charge stick, because one of his underlings or another confessed to every crime attempted to charge him with. She knew what he looked like, of course, had even observed him over the feed from the trios body cameras they’d worn during their interactions, but video feed was a poor imitation of his real life presence.

Kono had to remind herself not to give anything away from their investigation. Most of the knowledge they had about him and his business dealings came directly through their NCIS liaison. Bringing the man in three months after the Italian Mob had already appeared on the island was risky enough in and of itself without causing them to further question where the cops were getting their intel, or who might be a snitch within the organization.  

No, she couldn’t risk DiNozzo’s cover by showing any of their cards, and so she couldn’t directly inquire about anything related to the case or long list of murders. She could bring up Ricci and his connection to the one measly crime scene they managed to link him to after he’d been careless enough to leave a splatter of himself on the alley wall behind Conch, but she was hesitant to give up even that much… not when she wasn’t sure if they were aware of the blood spatter or the DNA match Five-O had already gotten. Better to wait until she better knew where they stood before showing her hand.  

“If you don’t work for Wo Fat, than why are you doing his dirty work for him?” She pressed further.

“Dirty work?” He sounded amused. “Please, explain what you mean. ”

“What other reason would you have to take us? We don’t even know who you are, what personal interest could you have in us?”

“That is remiss of me.” He sounded honestly apologetic. “My name is Roberto, and I believe you already know my associate, Marc?” He didn’t wait for her response, nor did he move to introduce the nameless third man. She didn’t recognize him from any of their footage, at least that she could recall. She pegged him as Roberto’s personal body guard simply from his stance and the way he held himself just slightly back, so she continued to keep her calm gaze on the man speaking. “As to your question- you can think of it more as a mutual need being met through an exchange of services. It is unfortunate for you that you’ve gotten mixed up in this, and for that I truly apologize.” He lifted a hand to press lightly against his heart in a show of contrition. “But it is nothing personal.”  

He made it all sound so reasonable, so business like. “So what do you get out of this then?” He tilted his head curiously at her but didn’t answer at first. “You said an exchange, right? I can guess well enough what Wo Fat want’s from you, but what do you want from him in return?”

He smiled at her again, the five o’clock shadow that edged his sharp cheekbone catching the bright light above. “I simply wished to meet you in person before things progress any further, and I'm afraid we're running quite short on time. All of your questions will be answered soon, I assure you. My friend Marc here is going to stay and keep you company. Do not fear, he has no intention of hurting you. Still, I beg you not try anything foolish. I fear he can be a bit quick to trigger… Though I suppose you’ve probably already guess that much.” He finished with an edge of cruel amusement as his cold gaze flicked back to Adam for a moment before turning away and striding from the room.

_~*~_

_Back with NCIS_

It had been twenty hours since Kono was taken from her home, and they were no closer to tracking her down then they’d been at the beginning of that window. Tony had managed to match one of the SUV’s tagged at the bar previously to one that appeared several times while they were combing through surveillance footage.

Unfortunately, it seemed the driver was either moderately intelligent or very lucky, because they didn’t manage         to get a single shot of his face, nor did he drive on any roads with government operated cameras. Instead, all of the footage they’d tracked him through were from privately owned cameras, and the quality varied greatly from one to the next. Even the plates it bore were fake, leading them nowhere but allowing them to put out a BOLO all the same. They hadn’t gotten any hits but were still holding out hope.

They eventually had to give the footage up as a lost cause, having reviewed it all three or more times in their attempts to catch every small scrap of knowledge from it. Chin had called in from the Palace. Apparently Fong had found a soil sample from Kono’s floor that was unique to the Paiko Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary. They’d began searching through everyone who had access to that protected area, and who had homes in the area.

It was coming close to time they’d need to leave to meet the newest ‘Associate’ of the cousins. While Tony kept his own nerves nailed down tightly and off his face, he knew things would progress differently than they had previously with the cousins, whom he had some personal knowledge and understanding of. Playing strangers, on the other hand, was simultaneously more difficult and yet easier in many ways.

With the cousins, Tony knew fairly well what to expect. They’d planned out their points of contact from every possible angle, able to do so  _because_  of his personal knowledge, with Five-O in their ear and ready to provide backup should it become necessary. As things stood now, they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the team since they’d departed so quickly the night before. They’d spoken to them of course, the Five-O agents taking turns to check in with them frequently, but if anything it had only served to show the NCIS agents and Naval Lieutenant just how high strung they were at having a teammate out of communication and presumably in enemy hands.

They hadn’t received any contact from the Cousins- no ransom demands, no ‘why I’m righteous’ spiels, no bragging nor threats nor subtle warnings- there was only silence. It was almost as if Kono and Adam had disappeared from the island altogether. And, with the continued lack of organized crime (The groups all still sticking close to their territory, even if it had been a couple of days since a body had turned up), the entirety of the island seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation.

They were all hoping to catch a break during the upcoming dinner. Surely they were due for one? The remaining members of Five-O were staying at the palace instead of wasting the time to drive to the safehouse and then back again, so the groups exchanged new knowledge and went over their plan via coms.

Once that was finished, the three at the safehouse dressed in silence and then departed to the familiar vehicle parked out front. Tony wore his sharpest suit yet- shirt and pocket square the color of bloody crimson, paired with a jacket and pants of inkiest black. He’d received a text from an unknown number bearing the address of a private residence in the Paiko Lagoon, along with simply ‘7:30.’ Well that explained the soil sample, didn’t it? They received the text just before seven, and so set off immediately while Five-O ran the address and investigated why it hadn’t set off any flags during their pervious search.

Stan drove the SUV once again as they made their way through the city and then into the quieter residential area. It was nice, the houses large and sophisticated looking. Many of them had private beaches, including the one they pulled up to, with calm and tranquil water spread out around them. A valet stood waiting to take their car and Tony had to lock down once again on the unease he felt at not knowing where their means of transportation was going to be.

Despite his internal tension, his expression remained calm and uncaring as he made his way up to the house, where another man stood waiting to open the door for them to enter. He nodded slightly in acknowledgement to the man, but didn’t offer anything further as he strode confidently inside, guards at his back failing to offer the same sense of comfort they had previously.

His bad feeling hadn’t abated, and in fact grew every step they took further inside, following the sound of dozens of voices past the entry way and into a large open room. He could feel his neck prickly as he walked and his gut was firing nonstop. Under any other circumstance they may very well have aborted the current objective and regrouped. Unfortunately, with nothing else to go on, they knew this meeting may well be their only chance to figure out what was going on and rescue the missing couple. They couldn’t afford to retreat and so pressed onward.  

Tony’s eyes swept the room automatically. He recognized many of the men present from studying the case, but the vast majority were unfamiliar to him personally. McGarrett’s voice broke the silence in his ear, tension in his own voice audible. “We’re looking at the head of every Organized Crime Syndicate and gang on the island.” He warned the three mainlanders. “It would have taken a lot of pull to get some of these guys into the same room, let alone to keep them playing nice with each other.”

Tony swept the floor again with a new appreciation in his gaze, the subtle undertones and visible tension running throughout the room taking on a whole new meaning. He moved to an empty stretch of wall, accepting a glass when offered but declining the offering of the second waiter following with a tray of what looked like bacon wrapped scallops. 

He saw Roberto and Nicholai standing together with a couple of others and made his way casually closer, lifting his glass and tipping it just enough to wet his upper lip. His eyes caught Nicholai’s, who reached out lightly to touch his cousins wrist. The two excused themselves shortly and approached Antonio.

“This isn’t quite what I was expecting when you said ‘dinner.’” Antonio drawled.

Roberto smiled, but he did so in such a way that further set off Tony’s paranoia. “You want to meet our associate, yes?”

Antonio smiled back just as coldly, right brow raising slightly higher than the left as he carefully formulated his reply. Every word had meaning, and every one needed to be chosen with care in this fine tuned dance. “I would like to speak with whoever is responsible for the decline in my recent business.”

Nicholai began to speak up, but was silenced by a single cutting glance from his elder cousin. “You will meet him soon enough. He is very much looking forward to making your acquaintance.” Roberto spoke again, voice unaffected by the silent exchange.

“We have that in common.” Antonio replied coolly.

Roberto opened his mouth once more, but a commotion on the other side of the room interrupted before he could speak.

“I thank you all for coming.” A smooth, sophisticated, voice spoke up slightly louder than the stifled conversations occurring around the room. “Please, join me for supper before we being discussing business.” A tall, slender Asian man spoke from a different doorway than they’d entered through, one arm held aloft in welcome for them to join him in the next room.

_~*~_

_Back with Five-O_

Steve was watching the feed from the tie cameras with wide eyes, his team members looking similar to their boss. “That’s Wo Fat!” He exclaimed, shocked. He raised his hand to activate his mic, but Danny grabbed his arm to halt him. “Wha-? Danny, it’s Wo Fat!”

“I know it’s Wo Fat, Steve, but what do you plan to do here? Have DiNozzo arrest him? They’re a little outnumbered, in case you didn’t notice.” His tone was sarcastic and it was enough to get through to his partner.

Steve paused, brows tightly furrowed as he considered how they should proceed. Really, Danny was right. They weren’t in a position to try and apprehend the master of evading arrest, and they couldn’t afford to give away their advantage attempting it. They had to be patient, which he was willing to admit wasn’t his strongest suit.

He lifted his hand again, slower and more deliberately the second time, and his fingertip was allowed to reach it’s destination. “Be advised,” He began lowly, “The man speaking is Wo Fat, he is wanted and extremely dangerous, I repeat, he is extremely dangerous. Proceed with the upmost caution.” He warned seriously before dropping his hand and crossing his arms tightly over his chest to stifle his agitation as he continued to monitor the situation.  

~*~

Tony raised his glass once more in a sign of acknowledgement. He could hear the stress in the commanders voice and wondered what triggered it. The name was vaguely familiar, but it wasn’t jumping out at him as anyone significant.

He followed the crowd into a large formal dining room, finding enough seats for those invited, but not for the body guards half the room seemed to be composed of. The man from before stood at yet another doorway, inviting them to join him next door for a meal of their own. Tony glanced at his backup, exchanging a warning filled look as the two followed the crowd in moving away.

It was only once the room was significantly emptier that those remaining moved to actually sit, the man identified as Wo Fat taking his own seat at the head of the table, while Roberto sat to his right, followed by Nicholai and then Antonio. The rest swept around the long table, baring the seat opposite their host which remained empty. Tony noticed a dark TV screen was mounted to the wall directly behind the empty seat. He wondered if it was intentional, and mentally decided to keep half an eye on it to see if it changed at any point.

Stifled small talk was made over the three course meal. Most of it instigated by the Chinese man heading the table but no one dared offend him by ignoring his words, even if the words seemed designed to showcase just how much knowledge the man held about their lives and families. More than one around him appeared on edge, and Tony was more than aware of just how volatile the situation actually was under the guise of politeness.

The food was delicious and Tony forced himself to eat slowly and steadily. A couple of the guests around him showed their unease by eating very quickly or by pushing food around on their plates, either untasted completely or mostly so. The NCIS agent was much too experienced to make such a foolish mistake, however, and looked entirely unperturbed as he languishly enjoyed the offerings. He wouldn’t have make such a mistake even had this been his real life and not an assignment, simply because showcasing your own discomfort in such an obvious fashion was akin to chumming the water around oneself while very much already surrounded by hungry sharks.

Eventually, near an hour or so later, the entrée had been cleared away and replaced by a light desert of assorted fruit, cheese, and chocolate. Only then did the atmosphere shift towards actual business, Wo Fat settling deeper into his own chair with a piece of chocolate dipped pineapple held lightly between two slender fingers. “I do appreciate you all taking time out of your busy day to indulge me.” He began, pausing to eat the fruit with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Wo Fat glanced around the room, more deliberately than before, pausing to make eye contact with every man at the table.  Some he was more familiar with than others, but they all received the same treatment regardless. “I have something of value to offer you. Something I believe you will enjoy.” He glanced to the side where a male attendant stood waiting and nodded pointedly.

The attendant pulled a small remote from his pocket and pressed a button on the casing as he lifted it towards the screen. Tony glanced quickly at Wo Fat before turning his attention to the now lit surface. It took a second, but a video feed soon appeared to them. Tony had himself well in hand, but he still had to physically stop himself from responding to the sight.

It was a dimly lit room, but he could clearly make out Kono and Adam tied tightly to bulky and uncomfortable looking steel chairs, both of them looking worse for wear. “I believe these two are familiar to you all?” Wo Fat inquired casually, reaching for a strawberry. Around the dining table, an impressive number of looks were exchanged and silent or whispered conversations had. More than one expression had turned bloodthirsty at the sight and several gazes remained on the screen, rapt. “To decide who gets them, we’re going to play a little game…”  

_~*~_

_Tbc_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ..... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	12. Chapter 12

It was a dimly lit room, but he could clearly make out Kono and Adam tied tightly to bulky and uncomfortable looking steel chairs, both of them looking worse for wear. “I believe these two are familiar to you all?” Wo Fat inquired casually, reaching for a strawberry. Around the dining table, an impressive number of looks were exchanged and silent or whispered conversations had. More than one expression had turned bloodthirsty at the sight and several gazes remained on the screen, rapt. “To decide who gets them, we’re going to play a little game…”  

~*~

Back at the palace stood the three remaining members of Five-O, along with Lou Grover as the head of SWAT, and Sergeant Duke Lukela representing HPD. The new additions were present to coordinate the men they had on waiting on standby should the task force require immediate backup, depending on how things shook out as things progressed. The five men stood tensely around the room, attention rapt on the plasma screen as they watched the UC hard at work.

The footage from the bodyguards had been minimized into small squares in one corner of the screen. They’d been led alongside the others down a long hallway and into another huge room where a buffet style layout had been prepared. Several small tables were scattered throughout the room, and the guards had separated off into pairs and small groups once they’d served themselves from the spread. Almeida and Stan had seated themselves at a corner-most table to try and obtain the best vantage point possible. Thus far, nothing else had happened and they’d remained undisturbed for the duration.

For the members of HPD, it was the first time they became aware of the newcomers in play. They knew that the task force had been wrapped up in the case for a while and that they had little to show for it, but they didn’t know the details of what they’d actually been doing. They were hopeful the unknown agent would be successful in breaking the case open, but they still seemed to be slightly less confident than Five-O.

Still, the events thus far had remained calm and controlled, DiNozzo playing his part flawlessly, sitting comfortably and confidently with some of the most dangerous men in the country like it was a given that he belonged amongst them. He was doing a fantastic job of proving to the two men that he was competent and able to handle the danger he found himself submerged in.

Steve personally was impressed with his work, had gained an honest respect for the man over the short time they’d been collaborating, and that alone said a lot about him. Their team wasn’t much for undercover work, baring the very few occasions they’d attempted it for single meetings or events. They were too well known to the locals, to recognizable among the limited population for it to be a strategy they could utilize often enough to become familiar.  Despite that lack of person experience, they could all clearly see just how skilled the visiting NCIS agent was in the world of subterfuge.

It was amazing to watch him switch so completely from one person to another- to see him go from Tony DiNozzo- the easygoing man who enjoyed making jokes and movie reference in equal quantities and who sculpted and cooked mouthwatering pasta by hand, to the cold hearted Mafioso who could stare down the barrel of a gun in a roomful of armed thugs without so much as blinking, all with a simple change of his outfit and a shift of his mindset.

Had they not been aware of who he was, his persona would have absolutely without-a-doubt fooled every single one of them. Talent aside, DiNozzo seemed to hold all of the traits Steve found most drawn to- intelligence, wit, tenacity, strength, confidence- he was charismatic, charming, and no one would argue that he was attractive. Beyond all of that, he worked in law enforcement and with the Navy in particular. He’d worked with soldiers, had experience with SEALS, he already understood a lot of the barriers men like him found in trying to date and would be able to navigate certain pitfalls without them needing an excruciating explanation.

He seemed to be the whole package, and Steve was honesty hoping that he’d be open to explore a potential relationship once the case had wrapped up. DiNozzo had been pretty clear in that he wasn’t willing to cross any lines while they were interacting in an official capacity, but he hadn’t denied his own interest in response to Steves and his behavior helped to reinforce that his attraction was returned in full.

Cath was still a buzz on the edge of his conscious, but it was shifting into more of a feeling of discontent at leaving their relationship up in the air. They hadn’t officially ended things, after all, and both had been left with the impression that things could or would continue once she returned back home. She hadn’t yet though, and it didn’t really seem like she wanted to. He was still concerned about her, of course he was. Well trained or not, she was a woman alone trekking through the unforgiving and war-torn Middle East, and that could turn deadly any moment.

He wished she were somewhere safe, wished she could find something fulfilling for herself that wasn’t quite so likely to claim her life, but he couldn’t make her decisions for her. His quietly unspoken anger and disappointment with her lack of action still simmered beneath his breast, and the longer she stayed away and maintained her silence, the more disconnected from her he felt.

Still, despite the mess his feelings around the Cath Situation had become, it felt wrong to be considering starting a relationship with someone else when they hadn’t officially ended their own. But really, what he could do? He couldn’t risk trying to contact her- wouldn’t put her in danger by potentially giving away her position at a delicate moment, and it wasn’t like he could send a text asking her to call when she had a minute.  

No, all’s he could do was wait for her to reach out to him, and she’d already proven that it wasn’t an effort she cared to make often, despite knowing how worried her was at her being there alone. There was really nothing he could do to resolve the situation and so he supposed he would just have to wait and see how things turned out before deciding on how best to proceed. There wasn’t any point in worrying about something that hadn’t even happened yet, and there were much more important things to focus his attention on just then than considering his love life.  

Though the case had stumbled into more dead ends and over more massive speed bumps than they could successfully navigate, the night seemed to be moving along well enough and the unexpected group dinner finally seemed to be wrapping up. The law enforcement officers watched silently as dessert was served, anticipation growing for the niceties to conclude and the discussion to begin in truth.

Chin had already pulled up their files on every man in the room and ran over a brief summary of each, though most were familiar enough to the team that it was largely redundant. Still, success was in the details, and they spent the lull time while those on screen were eating to ensure they were all fully aware of who was in play.

Their anticipation spiked when the top of their Most Wanted List finally began to address the room as a whole. DiNozzo shifted his body towards the screen and they got their first visual on their missing Ohana, causing a whole new surge of emotions to spring to the surface. More than one intake of breath was heard throughout the room at the vision, and they were all torn between stark relief at the visual proof-of-life and horror at the chilling statement Wo Fat uttered. Goosepimples sprung to life and the hair on the backs of their necks stood straight at the statement that they would play a game for the lives of Adam and Kono.  

They watched as Wo Fat glanced around the room and almost, for the scantest of moments, seemed to pause directly on Tony’s hidden tie camera as he artfully allowed the tension to mount. That had to be a confidence though, right? He couldn’t possibly know about the camera or hidden mic? Either way, he was smirking as he glanced back to the man who’d operated the television and nodded even more subtly than he had before.

Nothing seemed to happen at first but then suddenly and without explanation their surveillance feed cut off and the plasma screen went blank and still. Everyone surged towards the computer table, lining up beside Chin and trying desperately to figure out what had happened and how to get it back. Steve, meanwhile, was the only one who stood slightly back as tried to make communication with their now dark agent.

“-I repeat, we’ve lost video transmission. If you can hear me, please respond. Over-“ The agents own mic was automatically muted on both ends to lessen distractions, and was only active if contacted directly or if Tony triggered it manually on his end. The small mic hidden behind his tie was connected wirelessly to the ear piece hidden deeply within one canal. They weren’t expecting him to respond verbally, of course, but hoped he would be able to discreetly trigger the small button on his mic to send an acknowledging ‘blip’ across the air as had previously been decided on as means of nonverbal contact.

Steve forced himself to count out ten beats of his heart before repeating the message, not wanting his own transmission to overtake DiNozzo’s if the man attempted to beep them in the middle. “Our signal’s being blocked.” Chin announced from across the table, bent over it slightly with both hands continuing to dart across the electronic surface as he spoke. “This is pretty sophisticated, I don’t know if I can get it back.” He finished honestly, though his movements didn’t waver in the slightest.

“Keep trying.” Steve commanded softly, knowing it was unnecessary even as he said it. He repeated his message a third time, despite knowing the signal was likely blocked both directions. The room was caught in a sense of stifled chaos as they began debating on what they should do if Chin was unable to regain their connection. And- even if he was successful- the fact that the signal had been blocked in the first place was worrying. Were the targets aware of DiNozzo’s presence? Or was a signal jammer put up as a more general defense?  

~*~

_Back with Tony_

‘ _They’re still alive_.’ Tony reassured himself with as he forced a mildly curious expression to cross his face, shifting back into his chair with expertly feigned disinterest. The room remained frozen, everyone waiting in a differing level of intensity and anticipation of the rest of the information to come.

“The prize,” Wo Fat continued easily, gesturing towards the screen with a careless flick of his hand, “is currently being held at the property of one of my associates on the island. You’ve all been invited here because you have a personal history with one or both of them, or with their associates, and I thought you would appreciate the opportunity to settle an old score.”

“For those who wish to participate-“ Tony didn’t get the impression that the man would react favorably to anyone who declined his seemingly gracious offer. “-you will each select five of your own men to deploy to the property at the correct time. Should you desire, you may also join your team yourself to give yourselves the advantage of having a sixth man. Because I am generous, I will allow you to join your team whenever you wish- from the beginning, at any point within, or- should your team be taken out- you may step in yourself to continue accruing points.”

“This is going to occur in approximately two hours. At that time, Five-O is going to lead a force against the compound where the prize is being held. The goal is to eliminate or incapacity as many of the invaders as possible. Every member of HDP your team takes out will receive five points. Every member of SWAT taken down will receive ten points, and whoever takes down the three remaining members of Five-O will receive fifty points each.”

“The compound is fully 100% under surveillance, and an impartial party will keep track of the score as the game progresses. The game will conclude when the invading law enforcement is either completely destroyed or when they retreat. Whichever team has the most points at the end of the game will win the prize. Should two or more teams somehow happen to have a tied score, they will have to decide amongst themselves how to.. divide the prize.” He finished with a smirk. “Are there any questions?”

Tony glanced around the room to judge the individual emotions, feeling his own pulse pound harshly in his ears as he listened to the plan unfurl. It was disgusting and despicable, and it had the potential to absolutely devastate the law enforcement members on the island and the community as a whole. It was an attack, a full frontal assault built into trap, with Kono and Adam taken and used as bait to drawn them in.

He wondered how Wo Fat intended to lure the teams in considering they hadn’t yet found out the location the two were being held- hell, considering they hadn’t even been sure if they were alive or dead already until they saw the video over the feed. There had to be more to the plan than the man was saying, of course there had to be more, but how could he dig without drawing attention to himself? He didn’t have any known history with the ‘prize’ after all, considering his history was purposefully scarce and hard to come by.

 No, his presence was intended for another purpose, and so he couldn’t afford to give himself away by blatantly showing his interest. He did wonder why he was allowed to be present during such a discussion, all things considered. Was it because the cousins had already told him of the plans to remove their competition and Five-O in one fell swoop?

Considering they sat surrounded by that very competition, it seemed almost dangerous to allow his presence to remain unchecked amongst them considering the additional knowledge he held. So then, why? Why not have him meet earlier or later? There had to be a point, a purpose, but what was it?  Sure, Roberto sat in the relatively powerful position to the man’s right, but it was clear who was running the show. Tony knew he wouldn’t be present unless Wo Fat wanted him there.

Luckily, a man further down opposite him spoke up, breaking the lingering silence. “You want us to take on the full force of your Law Enforcement?” The man questioned with a thick African accent. “For the prize of two prisoners?” He laughed, deep voice reflecting his massive size. “I am sorry my friend, but I must decline your generous offer. That price is simply too steep for me.” He pushed his muscular frame back from the table and stood, nodding his head slightly and then moving towards the door.

The attendant stepped in front of him, blocking his exit, as Wo Fat spoke up again. “I am disappointed to hear that. You do understand, of course, that I cannot allow you to leave with the knowledge you now hold.” The Asian man sounded apologetic as he spoke, but there was no hesitation in his pointed nod to the attended, who pulled his weapon and shot the African man point blank in under a fraction of a second.

Task concluded, the attendant nonchalantly stepped back into place and knocked lightly on the closed door. Two more men entered silently and grasped the cooling corpse by the heels of his boots and drug him from the room. Within seconds, a thick bloody streak was the only remainder of the events that just occurred. Tony looked back toward the host to see him casually eating another strawberry, unbothered but the spike in tension around him.

The eagerness that had risen with the video feed had settled back into cautiousness as those present remembered where they were and who all they were with. Despite the appearance they were present as guests, it was clear they had no more control over the proceedings than the two restrained on the screen. That, paired with the tension that had sprung to life when their lower raking members began to be picked off one by one over the last few months, meant the sudden increase in tension was strong enough that it could practically be cut with a knife. 

 Wo Fat finished the berry before he spoke again, and when he did his voice was just as composed as before. “You and your men may disguise yourself however you wish if you are concerned about being identified, and truly there is very little danger to be had. We are going to control the circumstances that bring Five-O to us, and your men should have no trouble fulfilling their task considering the advantages they are going to have from the beginning. Does anyone else have any questions?”

The room remained silent for a long moment before anyone else dared to speak up. “Where is it we are supposed to go exactly? If you are expecting a Five-O to respond in a couple of hours, than we don’t have much time to prepare our men or get into position.”

Wo Fat gestured to the attendant, who picked up a small case from a decorative table beside him. He opened the lid as he walked closer, and then handed out what looked like a palm sized electronic device of some sort to each man seated at the table. Tony was mildly surprised when one was handed to him as well, though he accepted it easily enough. “In one hour, those devices will activate. The location of the compound has already programed in and they will guide you to the correct location at the correct time.”

“When the opponents for our little game arrive at the compound themselves, those devices will activate a second time with a live stream of scores being broadcast, along with the number of each type of opponent left in play. The members of Five-O will be listed individually to better track which of the primary targets are left. When the game ends, the devices will announce the winner(s) and power down. Now, does anyone _else_ wish to decline my invitation to participate?”

Considering declining was already proven to be a death sentences, it was unsurprising when no one else argued. And really, if the Bosses didn’t want to participate themselves, it wasn’t like they were being forced to. They could even send in five nuisances of their own that had been causing a headache to solve a problem and an obligation all in one, if they wanted to be cold about it.  

Despite the option to refrain from participating themselves, Tony could see the bloodthirsty gleam that still shone from a few people’s eyes, and he knew that there were some who wanted to partake regardless of whether they were required to or not. He mentally marked who fell on which side of the line as Wo Fat spoke for a moment or two longer. Only then were the others dismissed to prepare with a promise to see them soon.

Roberto and Nicholai remained seated and so Tony held his place as well. Wo Fat ignored them at first, the attendant from before coming to his side and bending slightly over so that the Asian man could whisper orders discreetly into his ear. He nodded eventually and straightened to depart himself, leaving the four of them alone.

“Antonio, was it?” Wo Fat questioned, turning his full attention towards him. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I am glad to make your acquaintance.”

“Are you?” Tony returned easily, as if such a thing wasn’t concerning all by itself. “I apologize for my own lack on knowledge regarding you.”

“Oh, you needn’t apologize for that, Agent DiNozzo. Commander McGarrett would hardly have known to warn you about me.”

~*~

Tbc

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Questions? Complaints? I'd love to hear what you think! Thank you so much to those of you who have left feedback thus far! 
> 
> -On a side note, once this project is complete I have decided to write out a long epilogue for my story 'A Chance Meeting' (Jack O'Neill/Tony DiNozzo) to thank those readers for leaving an astounding 1500+ Kudos!! If you haven't read it and think it might strike your fancy, take a look here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11923983


	13. Chapter 13

“Antonio, was it?” Wo Fat questioned, turning his full attention towards him. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I am glad to make your acquaintance.”

“Are you?” Tony returned easily, as if such a thing wasn’t concerning all by itself. “I apologize for my own lack of knowledge regarding you.”

“Oh, you needn’t apologize for that, Agent DiNozzo. Commander McGarrett would hardly have known to warn you about me.”

~*~

Every part of Tony stilled at the proclamation and a thousand thoughts began racing through his mind at once. He forced himself to blink, forced himself to keep breathing. Just because it seemed like the charade was up didn’t mean it was the end. He couldn’t afford to lose face- not yet.

“Agent?” He drawled, shifting his weight and crossing an ankle casually over one knee. He used the movement to help camouflage his hand rising to adjust his tie and the three rapid presses of the button hidden beneath. It was the predetermined message for ‘I’ve been made,’ not knowing he needn’t bothered, not knowing that he was completely on his own  and isolated within the unfamiliar house.

The Asian man smiled again in what looked like true amusement as his dark eyes tracked the motion. “Please, Tony- may I call you Tony? You do prefer that over Anthony, yes?”

Though he did not turn his head, he watched Roberto and Nicholai push back from the table from the edge of his peripheral vision and disappear from his line of sight. He didn’t need to look to feel them looming above him, one at each shoulder. He felt his pulse throbbing so deafeningly in his ears that it was a miracle the others couldn’t hear it from their own positions effectively surrounding him. Still, his chin remained raised just slightly, his brow smooth and free of stress, and his body relaxed back into his seat.

He remained silent, waiting for some sound to come through his ear, some sign that his message had been received. As the seconds stretched too long, he crossed his arms casually and shifted slightly the other direction, sending the signal for the second time under the cover his fitted jacket sleeves. “Nothing to say? I assure you, there is not point in you keeping your silence. I already know everything there is to know about you.”

“Oh?” He finally responded at the continued silence. The signal was redundant anyway- had they been managing his com, they would spoken up as soon as the man uttered his true name. Still, he hadn’t’ worked with the team long, and so it’d been a possibility that they were simply holding their silence to avoid distracting him during a critical time. It seemed that wasn’t the case, and so he couldn’t afford to simply buy himself time and wait for extraction. That’s okay, it wasn’t the first time he’d needed to rely on himself.

The man hummed confidently. “You seem skeptical. Perhaps you need some proof? Let’s see… There is simply so much we could discuss. I suppose the easiest thing is simply to start at the beginning. Let’s see… I know your name is Anthony Dominic DiNozzo Junior. I know you were born on July the eighth, 1971, at Southampton Hospital on Long Island New York, to Anthony Dominic DiNozzo Senior and Maria Silvana DiNozzo nee Paddington, at approximately 11:42 in the morning. I know your mother died under suspicious circumstances in a car accident when you were eight, and that your father sent you off to boarding school when you were twelve. Shall I keep going, or do you trust in my knowledge?”

Though the information being presented seemed almost worryingly detailed, Tony recognized the spiel for the intimidation tactic it was. Once the man had found out his real name the rest would have been easy enough to discover, especially considering the connections he boasted of having. Instead of reacting immediately, Tony tiled his head and observed the man, not bothering to mask his own interest.

He took in the neatly combed hair and the extensive scaring that covered half his face, neck, and the exposed skin that he could see on the hand of the same side. He’d clearly had skin grafting done to try and repair the damage, but it was still pretty obvious. “I trust that you know who I am, sure.” He finally replied. “But no, I can’t claim to trust your knowledge in any of a broader sense, considering I know nothing of you aside from your name and your… apparent tendency to shoot those who disagree with you.”  

“Are you not curious as to how I came by my knowledge of you?”

“All knowledge is accessible to someone who is either determined or well-connected enough to find it. I assume you’re one or the other.”

“I rather say I’m both, actually.”

“So what’s the point of all this then? You invite me into your house, feed me from your own table, let me sit in and listen to your little plan… What’s next? What’s the point of all this? What’s your end game? Tony questioned blasély, wondering if this mysterious associate was the type of criminal who liked to monologue about his own genius.  

Wo Fat smiled again, slower and more calculatingly than he had before. “You are going to assist me in eliminating the Five-O Task Force.” He responded, tone and body language working together to express complete assurance and confidence.

“Am I?” Tony questioned, brow raised on his forehead in an obvious display of skepticism. “And how am going to do that? It sounds like you have everything worked out already, what could you possibly need little old me for?”

“You are mistaken if you believe any of those chattel have a hope of taking down McGarrett.” Wo Fat sneered lightly across the polished table at him. “Element of surprise or not.”

“You sound like you respect him.” Tony observed keenly, somewhat surprised to hear what sounded almost like defense of the SEALs skill.

“He is a man who has proven himself worthy of my respect.” The Chinese man replied easily

“Okay, so if you don’t think they’ll succeed, why force them? Why shoot one of your own men for trying to walk away? You don’t think he could have been useful to you again in the future?” The statement might have seemed cold, but it was how such men operated, he knew.

“They will serve a purpose of their own. Sometimes they need to be reminded of who truly holds the power, such as was the case with Abdu.”  

“You called them chattel and you’re willing to kill them to make a point...” The NCIS agent pondered aloud, untucking his right hand from its crossed position to tap exaggeratedly on his jaw. It was a pretty easy conclusion to come to.  “Roberto mentioned taking out the competition. I suppose they’re meant to be your expendable distraction, then? Five-O takes care of them for you, and they might get lucky and take down part of Five-O in return?”

 “Very good. I have heard that you are more intelligent than most in your profession. I am pleased to find that it’s true.”

The man in question allowed the insult to his occupation to slide off his back to focus instead on the topic itself. “So if they’re your distraction, Adam and Kono are your bait, what am I? You still haven’t answered me. Where do I fit into all of this?”

“Truly, you were never intended to be part of my plans. Those plans changed, however, when a new party became involved. I had you brought here at their request.” Wo Fat admitted, nodding lightly to the men still looming behind him.

“ ** _You_** had me brought here? How do you figure that?” Tony challenged. It’d been his idea to offer his help, after all. Unless he meant he was simply responsible to Denning contacting him in the first place. Was the governor compromised?

“You of all people should appreciate the value of a favor owed.”

“Whose favor?” Was the favor one owed by Wo Fat, or one owed to him?

“The who is unimportant, but I suppose I can indulge your curiosity in part. You see, when your friends -“ He gestured to the cousins for emphasis. “-and I first began our working relationship, there was one thing more than any other that they desired. Can you guess what it was?”

Tony remained silent. He could guess, but he’d be damned if he spoke of his own impending demise aloud for the pleasure of these men.

Lips twisting, Wo Fat continued. “You see, they were once part of a very successful and _powerful_ family. Somewhere, at some point, a rat wiggled its way in through their walls, and that rat managed to collapse the entire organization in less than a week. Truly, it sounds like it was an astounding feat!”

“Though they had tried for years to figure out who it might have been, the person proved to be too well hidden. When we settled on our own agreement, they requested I use my superior resources to try and succeed where they have continued to fail.” Tony heard one of the men shift on his feet in what may have been agitation at the dig. Clearly he didn’t consider the cousin to be quite his equals after all, whatever they may think on the contrary.  

“I have my own goals to achieve on this island, as you are already aware. You see, Commander McGarrett is something of a brother to me. Like many brothers, we have some unfinished business to settle.” He paused, absently running a hand lightly over the scarred half of his face as he considered his next words.

Tony spoke up before he could continue. “That’s funny. I’m having a hard time seeing the family resemblance. Is this you lashing out because of like, Foster Child Syndrome? You’re an adult now, it’s really time to move on with your life.”

The man continued, unphased by his sarcasm. “We drew Five-O in and on our trail. When the time was right, we staged a scene in which my men opened fire at a group who happened to wander by our chosen venue at the right moment to serve our purpose. McGarrett would hardly stand by with _innocent blood_ on his hands. Nicholai left a blood sample at the scene to lead them in the right direction and then we waited.”

“I knew, eventually, someone with high enough clearance would become involved and they would be able to lead us to the rat.” Tony felt cold. The civilian deaths weren’t accidental after all- they’d been planned out as a way to draw him to the island.  “I admit, I thought it would take more effort to actually get you here, but you made things easy. I suppose I should thank you for that.”

“Happy to help.” Tony shot back. The sound of a door opening came from behind him, followed by several pairs of feet entering the room. He could see the armed thugs taking a stance around the room, weapons already in hand, and wondered what prompted the new additions.

“You see, I had planned to simply hand you over to them once I had you in my grasp.” Tony heard the cousins shift behind him in the same moment that the words ‘ _had_ planned’ registered in his mind.  “The more I learn about you, however, the more tempted I am to alter our agreement. You are a very intriguing man, Tony. So, instead I will offer you a choice.”

“I can gift you to Roberto and Nicholai, as I have already agreed to do and as they are eagerly waiting to occur, at which point you will be theirs to do with as they please. Or, you can agree to work for me and remained safe. Should you make the intelligent choice, you will be released unharmed and free to return to your previous assignment once this case is deemed closed. You will be able to live your life as you always have done.”

“I’ll be free to live my life but, what? You’ll just own my ass and collect on it whenever you feel like it?”

“Your services might be called upon in the future, depending on my needs.” Wo Fat replied loftily. “Considering the alternative you face, it should be an easy choice to make.”

“Oh, should it? And what happens to Five-O?”

“My plans for Five-O will proceed regardless of your decision in this.”

“You said earlier that I was going to help you. You don’t think my decision will affect that happening?”

“It will not. It is simply the manner in which you will help me that will change.”

Tony thought things over, considering his response. He really only had two choices- agree to work for the man and try to sabotage his plans, or refuse and be turned over to the cousins. Should the latter occur, he wasn’t sure how long he’d survive their tender mercies.

“Say I did agree to… help you. What exactly would that entail?”

Wo Fat smirked but Nicholai spoke up before he could answer. “And what of our deal?!” He demanded, voice angry.

The Asian man didn’t even spare him a glance before waving him away dismissively. “We can renegotiate our own deal later.” He brushed off, tone holding a hint of warning at being interrupted.

“I’m afraid there wont be any renegotiating.” Roberto spoke next, sounding much calmer than his younger cousin but still angry in his own right. “We get DiNozzo, or we walk away right now and you can finish this on your own.”

That caught Wo Fats attention, drawing his eyes slowly from the agent and to himself. “Are you giving me an ultimatum?” He asked, sounding amused at the thought.

“I suppose I am.” Roberto replied tensely. In a manner reminiscent of earlier in the meal, the boss gave a subtle nod to one of the many men standing by and a gunshot sounded before anyone could react. Tony couldn’t see the outcome, but he heard the sound of the bullet entering the skull so closely above him, and then the sound of the heavy body collapsing to the hard floor immediately after.

“And do you share your cousins view, Mr. Giuseppe? Or do you believe we might still be able to work together despite this small alteration?”

Nicholai was silent for a long time, and Tony honestly wasn’t sure how he’d react to the sudden death of his beloved cousin. Still, family or not, Nicholai had always been one to try and weasel his way into a higher position. With Roberto out of the way and new territory at their fingertips, the younger of the two could easily set himself up to run things.

“No,” He finally said, voice rough and quiet. “I’m sure we can come to a new agreement that will suit us both.”

“Excellent!” The man announced, clapping his hands together. Unlike before, he didn’t seem to care about the body lying in a spreading pool of blood on the floor. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen…”

~*~ Back  With Five-O ~*~

The shrill ring of a phone cut through the quiet chaos occurring as they prepared to move in at continued radio silence from their undercover team. The number came across as unknown and Steve didn’t hesitate to answer. “McGarrett.”

“McGarrett, it’s Kawika.” An unexpectedly familiar voice responded, sounding tense.

Steve looked around the room, eyes locking on Danny first and the Chin.

“Kawika,” He finally responded, hitting the button for speaker phone and then setting the device down on the computer table out of habit. “what can Five-O help you with?” Though they were on amiable enough terms following the breaking of the arson case, it was unusual for the leader of the Kapu to reach out to him in any capacity- unusual being that it had never actually happened before.

“It’s not what you can help me with, but what I can do for you. Look, I got wind of some stuff that’s about to go down tonight. It’s all kinds of bad news brah-“  The three listened in tense silence as the plans were laid out before them, the two members of HPD remaining quiet in the background as they allowed the task force to work. It was an example of the differences between the two environments- the leader of a Gang like the Kapu would never willingly call HPD to warn them of a potential catastrophe. There was simply too much tension between the primary law enforcement on the island and the groups that lived by skating in on the edge of legal profit.

“This is some pretty tight intel. Who’d you hear all this from?” Steve questioned once Kawika had finished filling them in on what he knew. Chin worked the table, plugging in the coordinates of the compound they were given and bring up the specs to examine real time.

“That doesn’t matter, but the source is reliable. You have my word on that.”

“Alright, I’ll take it. Hey, thanks Brah, really. I won’t forget this.”

“Mai hopohopo, Brah [Don’t worry about it]. Consider it ukuhoʻi [payback] for having respect enough to come talk to me before you went after my boys. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.”

“ _Mahalo [Thank you]_.”

The phone connection clicked off and the three stood in silence as the digested the newest information.

“So what do we do here?” Danny asked, breaking the stillness that had enveloped them.

“What can we do?” Chin responded. “They still have our people. We can’t just leave them there.”

“There’s only one way onto the property. We’d be picked off like fish in a barrel if we tried to charge straight in.” Danny argued, gesturing at the map. It was true, the property was isolated on a bluff overlooking a rocky stretch of ocean. Three quarters of the property gave way to sheer cliffs, while the remaining side had a single road winding up to the mansion located on top.

“It’s true that we’d be walking into a trap if we went straight in,” Steve agreed reasonably, though he clearly had more to say. Both men looked at him, Chin with a kind of hopeful curiosity and Danny with a hint of warning against suggesting anything too crazy, as the waited for him to finish his thought. “-but, this cliff face here-“ He gestured himself to an area of terrain that was slightly lower than the rest. “-is only about 150’. It wouldn’t take long for a group of experience climbers to scale that.”

“Have a troupe of experience climbers laying around, Steven?” Danny relied sarcastically.

“This is Hawai’i, Daniel.” Steve replied with a small roll of his eyes. “Rock climbing is practically a state pastime. Duke, how many climbers do you have on standby right now?”

The elder man looked thoughtful for a long moment before replying, “At least a dozen. Maybe more.”

“Plus me and Chin.” Steve stated firmly. “That gives us a team of at least fourteen to scale the wall and come in from behind. They won’t be expecting that. A second team moves in after a delay from the front and we’ll have them surrounded.”

“Oh is that all!? There were ten men at that dinner before our feed got cut off. If each one brings five goons, that puts the numbers at fifty-to-fourteen starting. You realize that, right?”

“I’ve faced worse odds. Plus, that’ll only be until we’ve drawn their attention. Once they are focused on us, the second team can move in and it’ll balance back out.”

Danny sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I guess I should be grateful for your restraint. I was half expecting you to suggest we skydive in.”

“Well, if you hate the climbing idea so much, that is another possibility.” Steve couldn’t help by tease back despite the tenseness of the situation. “You can ride Tandem with me if you don’t wanna jump by yourself. You’re legs are short enough that you won’t really even need to worry about keeping them up for the landing.”

“Hardy har-har.” Danny deadpanned. “Can we get back to the actual planning now please, or do you want to take another dig at my height?”

“Sure Danno. So, after we climb up…”

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that the expected chapter length went from 15 to 17... I'd intended to get through all of the action in this chapter, but the damn thing just won't stop getting longer and longer! ... Still, we've started answering some questions! Hopefully I didn't leave you with too much of a cliff hanger this time. Any theories on what Wo Fat is planning to make Tony do? 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and a special thanks to everyone who has left feedback thus far! I absolutely love to hear what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

_Last Time:_

_“And do you share your cousins view, Mr. Giuseppe? Or do you believe we might still be able to work together despite this small alteration?”_

_Nicholai was silent for a long time, and Tony honestly wasn’t sure how he’d react to the sudden death of his beloved cousin. Still, family or not, Nicholai had always been one to try and weasel his way into a higher position. With Roberto out of the way and new territory at their fingertips, the younger of the two could easily set himself up to run things._

_“No,” He finally said, voice rough and quiet. “I’m sure we can come to a new agreement that will suit us both.”_

_“Excellent!” The man announced, clapping his hands together. Unlike before, he didn’t seem to care about the body lying in a spreading pool of blood on the floor. “Now, here’s what’s going to happen…”_

~*~

Tony stared at the man when he finished rolling out the entirety of his explanation, honestly unsure at first how to respond to the sheer deviousness of the plot unfolding before him. A question was nagging him and so he spoke it aloud, unsure if he’d receive an answer. “How can you be sure that your associate’ll leak the plans for the game to the right person for it to get back to McGarrett in time? What’ll you do if he doesn’t hear about it before it’s too late? You have to know that he’ll be preparing to move in on this place if I don’t contact him soon. It sounds like a pretty big risk to lay on the reliability of criminal gossip.”  

“You will find that I am not the type of man to take risks. Everything is planned down to the smallest detail. I assure you that it won’t fail.”

“How can you be so sure?” He challenged, pushing for more information despite how helpless the situation seemed to be for him.

Wo Fat smiled. “Simply put, we are too far along for things to fall apart. The outcome is.. inevitable, at this point. Though disappointing, I suppose it’s reasonable if you don’t yet understand everything.” Interestingly, Tony heard the smallest scuff of a shoe from further behind him at the statement. It was quiet enough that the scarred man probably didn’t hear it and Tony didn’t make any move to draw attention to it.

“Oh no, I understand what you’re doing perfectly.” Tony argued easily. Thing had clinked together easily once he had the rest of the pieces to put together. “You had someone- Ricci, if I had to guess- kill a low ranking member of every criminal organization on the island. Some were much more creative than others- I assume they were from the groups that you have the hardest time controlling? So, you show them that you can get to them wherever they are, no matter how _safe_ they think they might be, no matter the weapons they carry, or the men around to protect them, or the security systems they hide behind… And then once you had them all on edge and right where you wanted them, you brought them together and set the parameters for your little _death game_.”

 “I’m sure you probably expected someone to protest- you were probably even banking on it, weren’t you? And sure enough, someone decided that your little vendetta wasn’t worth their lives or their freedom and attempted to walk away. That probably made your day, because as soon as they stood up to you it gave you the reason you were looking for to make an example out of one of them in front of all the others. You showed that you’re not afraid to take them out in addition to killing off their little peons, and, well, witnessing something like that first hand always makes more of a statement than simply hearing about it after the fact.”

“But even still, making them afraid of you alone wasn’t good enough. Fear can be an unpredictable motivator at best. No, you needed to play on a secondary emotion that would make them _want_ to participate. So you offered up a nice little prize to take some of the sting away, and then you threw in a little extra incentive to entice the bosses themselves to join in.. From there, all’s you really have to do it sit back and let their bloodlust and lingering fear work its magic.”

Tony shook his head, looking impressed. “I admit, it’s a pretty damn good plan! Very intricate, though. The problem with making intricate plans is that they have a lot of moving parts. The more moving parts you have, the more likely it is that something is going to break down on you. And, if you abide by Murphy’s law at all, it’ll break down at the worst possible moment.” He finished, pitching his tone to come across as concerned for the man holding him captive.

“As I have already said, my plans are not at risk of breaking down.” Wo Fat replied, features unbothered, as he allowed Tony to ramble. “Though you may continue to hold onto that belief if it helps in your own performance to come.”

~*~

Tony had been moved from the dining room and locked in a small empty space where he was then left alone for nearly twenty minutes. He’d been stripped of everything he’d carried on himself- from his wallet to his gun- and was left in naught but his crimson button up and slacks. By some miracle, they hadn’t found the small blade hidden within his belt. He made no move to draw it, not yet, but it was reassuring to know he had it all the same. _Thank you rule nine_ , he’d  thought mentally when they’d left.

A sudden thudding came from beyond the door and he tensed slightly in preparation of whoever might enter. He wanted to be surprised when Nicholai strode into the room, followed by half a dozen armed men. No explanation was given as the only two of them who weren’t holding a weapon came up on either side of him, their sheer height towering above his own respectable 6’2 and making it feel reminiscent of earlier in the evening, despite that he was standing now himself rather than sitting as before.

They each clasped one of his shoulders harshly, grips like pincers, at the same time using their free hands to secure either of his wrists. He could feel the bruises erupting to life beneath his skin at the unrelenting hold. Only once he was secured and fairly helpless between them did they begin to frog-march him from the room he’d been left in. The remaining four men took point in a larger square shape around the four in the middle- the four of course being Tony, his two escorts, and Nicholai.

They only made it a hall over before they ran into a pair of well-dressed men loitering against an entryway. The two seemed surprised to see them and they didn’t even have time to voice their question before they were shot through the skull. Tony barely held in his flinch at the deafening sound so close in front of him, and it was only his own mettle that kept him moving forward under his own power as the blood and brain matter began to drip down the cream colored wall.

“What are you doing, Nicholai?” He asked aloud. The man glanced over at him dismissively and then continued onwards without pause. “Look, I admit I don’t know much about this Wo Fat guy, but he doesn’t seem like someone you want to mess with.” He continued, tone edging on cautious as noise sounded from the direction they were moving towards.

The man glanced over at him again and finally responded, voice harsh and threatening despite it not technically being aimed at him. “Ha incasinato la mia famiglia. Non avrebbe dovuto farlo [He messed with my family. He shouldn’t have done that].” Tony felt another chill run down his spine but didn’t have time to respond before the source of the noise came into view.

The noise turned out to be a small group of men that came running down the hall, and the men surrounding them didn’t hesitate to open fire. Wo Fat’s men managed to get a few shots off in return, but none hit as they fell back under the relentless barrage of bullets. Tony jerked his body, testing the grip upon him during the chaos. Despite the flying bullets, his two escorts never loosened their individual holds, and they shook him slightly in response to his sudden motion in order to highlight that he was still very much the focus of their undivided attention.

That was okay thought, Tony was patient, he could bide his time. He told himself that as he was dragged forward, but he couldn’t stop the full body shudder that came over him as he stumbled over the pile of warms bodies left carelessly strewn across the floor, some still twitching and moaning as they were left to bleed out. They continued through the building, only coming across one other pair of men before they managed to make it to the front door.

A pair of plain black SUV were waiting out front and they moved towards them immediately. Tony was forced to sit between the two mountain like men, their sheer mass making it a tight fit between the three of them and the doors. A third gunman had taken the passenger seat and was twisted to keep his gun focused on Tony at all times so that he didn’t consider trying to flee in transit.

He wasn’t entirely sure how long they drove for, but they ended up at a private dock with a rich looking yacht moored in the water beyond the long wooden structure. Tony could see Nicholai with his phone held up to his ear when everyone began exiting the cars and heading towards what was obviously their exit strategy. He wondering if they’d always been prepared to jump ship, or if it had simply been a reaction to the events.

They weren’t yet to the boat when three more cars came screeching to a stop. Tony tried to look back, but it was futile as he was jerked roughly and shoved forwards. The was forced over the narrow gangway and onto the polished deck of the boat, but he didn’t remain there for long. His arms were rearranged suddenly and couldn’t help but wince as his bad shoulder screamed out silently in agony as the muscle and tendons were twisted unnaturally up behind his back.

The familiar feel of cold steel clicked into place tightly around his wrists and then he was shoved forward again, towards a small set of stairs going below deck. He was pushed down into the darkness and then taken into an empty room. A second later someone followed them inside with a folding chair. Tony had to withhold a grimace as his arms were released and then re-secured with the chain woven in between the bolted steel bars. It would be nearly impossible to free himself from such constraints, he knew.

One of the men forced his heals against the chair and then wrapped layers and layers of duct tape around his legs to secure them to it as well. After that, he was left on his own once more.

The engines started up almost immediately, but it was some time before he felt the tell-tail jerk of such a large machine being forced into motion.

~*~ Back at the Compound with Wo Fat ~*~

Wo Fat stood around a sturdy desk with three of his top ranking men. They were discussing a few last minute details of the plan before the began the next phase when a loud explosion split the otherwise tranquil evening air, followed quickly by a second and then a third. Flames began licking up the walls of the room to one side and smoke seeped into the air around them seemingly from all sides.

The leader brought an arm up to cover his nose and mouth and the four of them began moving to the door return to retreat to a more open area while they figured out what was happening. They walked into pandemonium, men running to-and-fro and shouting back and forth as another series of explosion began. Debris flew through the air and a heatwave engulfed the room, fire nearly blinding in it’s intensity as it consumed the building more quickly than should have been possible.

They exited the building as quickly as they could, a swarm of men surrounding them as they fell into an instinctual flee from the certainty of a fiery death. They ended up regrouping to one side of the house, leaving a large pool in between them and the quickly disappearing structure as the men waiting for their new orders.

~*~ With Stan and Almeida ~*~

The two men sat tensely as every other bodyguard in the room was eventually summoned back to their respective bosses. Tony hadn’t appeared and they were eventually left completely on their own. As soon as the next to last person had left, they both attempted to make discreet communication with the team running surveillance over the op (in case they should be under video surveillance).

They knew there was a guard stationed outside the door, for he’d been the one to call the others out one by one. They already had the feeling that something had gone wrong, but the feeling intensified a thousand-fold when they received naught but dead air in response to their increasingly urgent request for a sitrep, or any communication at all.

They considered and quietly discussed removing themselves from the large house through the window on one wall, but neither wanted to leave before knowing where their companion might be being held, or what was holding him up in the first place. Thus, they were still enclosed in the quiet room when the explosions began. The window shattered after the second boom and so, after exchanging a loaded look, they moved to exit the volatile structure.

They ducked into the cover of some foliage a small distance away as they tensely waited to see what would happen next. They could see dozens of men flee the external doors and gather together to regroup a mere hundred or so feet from their hiding spot, making them even more hesitant to move and potentially give away their position.

There were nine blasts total before silence once again descended and remained. Flames had consumed two-thirds of the large house by the time the larger group moved towards the huge underground garage to retreat from the devastation left behind.

The two began running back towards the gaping window as soon as their way was clear, and they wasted no time in kicking down the door to get into the hallway beyond. They worked together to clear all of the rooms they could safely get to, calling out for Tony regardless of the danger. They didn’t have the time to waste being discreet, and they figured few would have been stupid enough to remain under their own free will.

They didn’t find their companion before it became too hot and too dangerous to press on. Both were coughing heavily when they once again exited into the salty evening air and stumbled farther away from the huge brazier that was crackling away like a giant bonfire.

Stan reached up to try and activate his communicator once more, not holding much hope that it would work. Thus, he physically startled when the device crackled back in his ear just before McGarrett’s voice sounded across the line. “Balboa?! Status report! We’ve been trying to reach you guys for over an hour!”

Stan began filling him in on the limited amount he knew for being kept in isolation for most of the time they’d been active. “We went back in to try and find him, but he wasn’t in any of the rooms that were accessible to check.” He finished heavily

The resulting silence stretched three, four, five heartbeats and Stan was worried they might have lost the signal again. McGarrett responded before he could request one, informing them that a response team was on the way to them, along with all of the firefighters in the area. They were ordered to see a medic and then to retreat to HQ and await further contact.

Though neither was very happy with the orders, they could admit they’d done everything they could. The building was simply burning too fast for them to do anything about it. Indeed, it was little more than a square of ash on the ground when the firefighters arrived a scant few minutes later.

~*~

Steve and Chin exchanged a loaded look from where they stood at the bottom of the cliff, ready to set their plan into motion. Danny was with the secondary team on the other side of the mountain and didn’t say anything over the com to announce himself. Still, they knew he would have heard the report as well.

As cold as it was, they couldn’t afford to wait or retreat to try and find DiNozzo. They needed to move on the compound while the still had the advantage of surprise and before Wo Fat could regroup from whatever had befallen his base of command.

Both men shook off the newest tension and focused themselves in preparation of moving out. The team of experienced climbers (sixteen in total, it turned out) set off together and matched pace so that they’d all emerge over the top at the same time to help avoid leaving anyone vulnerable or drawing attention before everyone was secure atop flat ground.

When the reached the top several minutes later, it was to discover confusion and chaos unfolding. They could see many of the people that they’d tagged at the dinner before they’d gotten cut off, along with smaller groups of gunmen that seemed to be keeping to their own organization as they tried to make sense of the events. Some were familiar to the team, some weren’t, but it didn’t honestly matter if they knew them or not at that point.

They all looked like deer in headlights when they caught sight of the mixture of Five-O and HPD pulling themselves up and over the cliff face, non-lethal weapons in hand to start with, but live ammo ready to go should things get rough. The faced a lot less resistance than they’d been prepared for, and it was suspiciously easy for them to press forward and move in. Some surrendered immediately but many more choose to turn and try to flee from the property.

Steve radioed down to Danny so they’d be ready to stop the rush trying to come down the isolated road. The conflict was over in less than ten minutes and left zero casualties behind. It seemed the criminals on the island were less keen to take on Five-O once the ring leader’s command was cut off and the flow of orders stopped. Though they couldn’t actually take credit for the break in his plans, they’d use whatever they could get to their full advantage.

They found Kono and Adam in the same room they’d viewed in the footage and they looked no worse for wear than they had on the screen. They were released from their bonds without trouble and soon after the five of them stood together in the drive while HPD worked on processing the huge number of criminals they’d apprehended. Night was starting to fall and the flash of blue and red from the surrounding vehicles lit the landscape in a wash of color that seemed to be competing with the brilliance of the sunset cresting on the horizon.

“… sure you’re okay?” Steve asked them both seriously, taking in the bruises and lines of dried blood they both bore.

“We’re fine, Steve, really.” Kono reassured him. “They pretty much left us alone.”

“Good, that’s good.” He replied, sounding slightly relieved. “Because we need to get over to Paiko ASAP.” He announced before filling her in on what had happened and on DiNozzo being MIA.

“What are we standing around here for then?!” Kono demanded. “We’ve got work to do!”

~*~ Back with Tony ~*~

Tony’s arms and butt had both gone completely to sleep by the time the door opened again. He glanced blankly across the small room as Nicholai entered followed closely by Ricci. The bloodthirsty enforcer hung back, taking a relaxed stance against the far wall. He drew a small knife and begin to clean under his nails as his newest boss approached the restrained narc.

Nicholai came to crouch before the bound man and studied him quietly for several long moments. “I never thought it would be you at the end of all this.” He finally spoke, voice softer than Tony was expected it to be. “Out of everyone- how could it be you?”

 

_~* Memory *~_

It was Christmastime, the first Christmas he’d experienced since being elevated to the rank of Consiglieri, as a matter of fact, and it was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. As a kid, Christmas had always been an overly formal event devoid of much cheer. When his mother had been alive, they’d usually retreat from the annual holiday party they hosted right after dinner ended and they’d hide away together in Tony’s room to watch ‘A Christmas Story,’ while they ate cookies and drank coco.

His mother drank her own coco spiked with whiskey. He knew from grabbing her mug by mistake once when he was five. She’d thought it hilarious at the time and Tony had joined in her laughter after getting over the putrid taste of the alcohol that had filled his mouth and had completely taken over the sweet taste of the warm chocolate. Looking back as an adult, Tony realized his mother had already been three sheets to the wind when it had happened, and that her reaction had likely been more of a reaction to her own drunkenness than any actual humor at the situation. Despite the occasional small glitch, those nights remained some of his most cherished childhood memories.

Christmas at the compound was nothing like the tensely formal meals of his youth or the hours spent with his inebriated mother.  Though the compound was often full of the men who served the Macalusco family, it was much more rare to see those men’s wives and daughters present en masse. 

Christmas day seemed to be the exception. They’d began descending upon the house early in the morning and had immediately taken to the kitchen to begin preparing Christmas lunch in what was obviously a beloved tradition. Everyone was cheerful and laid back, even Michele himself sat reclined at the head of the table with a glass in hand and an easy smile on his usually stern face.

Tony had joined the random mash of men and women filling the expansive kitchen, lending his hands wherever they might be needed as he stepped faultless into the chaotic dance that was occurring in the room as they somehow all managed to avoid actually stepping on each other’s toes. He enjoyed cooking himself, but he rarely had the chance to be amongst others who shared his passion.

He spent hours amongst them that day, and his cheeks were aching from smiling and laughing so much  by the time one o’clock came around and they finished bringing out the veritable feast they’d worked together to prepare. The dining table stretched nearly twenty feet in length and had a smaller table nearby for the younger children. No business would be spoken about that day, and so there was no need for additional distance between the two groups.

They’d spent the next five hours crammed together, nearly pressed shoulder-to-shoulder on the bench like seats for how many were present. The first course was a range of classic antipasto fare, served up on festive China like something out of a Food and Wine magazine. Once the spread of cheeses, olives, vegetables and breads had been consumed, the wave of baked pastas were brought out.

They took a break after the second course to share in some wine while they let their stomachs empty. The adults chattered away in flowing Italian, while the children tended to switch between the two language, many still learning to communicate. Tony was seated to the right of Michele and spent much of the night conversing with him and those closest to them. After the pasta came the meat courses, and then eventually the array desserts and dessert wines.

There had been quite a bit of shuffling places and rearranging seats over the hours, and so by the end of the meal, Tony found himself sat beside Nicholai with Michele still to his left, and Nicholai’s cousin Roberto on the man’s far side. The Boss had generously passed around his box of beloved cigars so that anyone who wanted one might indulge along with him as they relaxed after the meal. The four of them, along with three others across the table, found themselves in a conversation of their own for quite some time.

Tony had been regaling them all with an amusing anecdote drawn from his youth, story too innocent and old to have to worry about censoring himself. Laughter burst from around him as he got to the end. Nicholai had reached out and wrapped a familial arm around his shoulders, had pulled him closer and smacked a joking kiss against the side of his forehead as the others teased him.  

_~*~ End Memory ~*~_

 

It had been one of the happiest days of Tony’s life, and he hated that it wasn’t really even his own memory. It was false, belonging to naught but a long dead persona. It was Antonio’s memory, and Tony himself didn’t actually have any claim to it, he knew. The man peering into his own eyes clearly didn’t hold any lingering warmth for him. No, there was nothing but cold rage left in those eyes.  

That Christmas eclipsed every other holiday memory he held to the present day. Christmases with Wendy, with a few other people he’d dated over the years, with NCIS, the bizarre Christmas he’d spent with his Father as a houseguest at his apartment- none of them compared. None of them even came close, and wasn’t that just cosmic justice? His own fallaciousness allowing him a glimpse of what life with a real family could be like, without ever actually letting him experience it in truth.

“I trusted you.” Nicholai continued at Tony’s silence. “We _all_ trusted you. How could you have betrayed us like that? Eravamo la tua famiglia! [We were your family!]” He exclaimed loudly, words shifting to Italian as his agitation grew sharply. “Michele ti ha chiamato figlio, ti ho chiamato cugino [Michele called you son, I called you cousin]...” He shook his head, eyes growing cold. “Hai tradito tutti noi. [You betrayed all of us].”

Tony could see his hand curling into a fist but there was nothing he could do to stop it from smashing heavily into his unprotected face… Nor could he do anything to stop the blow that came next, or any of the ones that followed.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stop it. A small, twisted and hidden part of himself felt like he deserved to be punished for his actions, felt like he deserved the pain and had deserved it for years. It was a feeling that had been stewing deeply beneath the surface since he’d stepped back into the life of Tony DiNozzo with a trail of death and destruction left in his wake.

Nicholai was panting when he finally let his arms drop back by his side, knuckles dripping blood on the ground from where they’d split open on Tony’s jaw. When he spoke, his voice was lower and more threatening than Tony had ever heard it before. “You are going to pay **tenfold** for all of the pain you caused our family to suffer. Marc?” He stepped back, wiping an arm across his perspiring brow.  

The enforcer pushed himself off the wall and practically glided across the room in his eagerness for what was to come.

~*~

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Humm, plot twist? Now who saw that coming? ;) Three chapters to go!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF TORTURE AND VIOLENCE. PLEASE HEED THE WARNINGS AND TAGS IN PLACE. 
> 
> On another note, I know at least one of you were a little confused over the last chapter. I apologize for not making things more clear, but allow me to clear things up now... The explosions at Wo Fats base of operations were caused by Nicholai, as payback for the man killing Roberto. It was Nicholai's way of saying 'Fuck You' to Wo Fat before he took Tony and his men and left the other criminal to deal with Five-O on his own. The plan that Wo Fat was intending Tony to be a part of was foiled when Tony was taken against his and Nicholai's verbal agreement. I hope that helps to clear things up and I will try to be more clear from here on out!

~*~ Last Time ~*~

Nicholai was panting when he finally let his arms drop back by his side, knuckles dripping blood on the ground from where they’d split open on Tony’s jaw. When he spoke, his voice was lower and more threatening than Tony had ever heard it before. “You are going to pay **tenfold** for all of the pain you caused our family to suffer. Marc?” He stepped back, wiping an arm across his perspiring brow.  

The enforcer pushed himself off the wall and practically glided across the room in his eagerness for what was to come.

~*~

The next three or so days passed in a haze of pain and brief periods of blissful darkness when he was fortunate enough to black out. Honestly, he wasn’t quite sure _exactly_ how much time had passed since he’d been dragged aboard the boat . All things considered, it was kind of hard to keep track. Despite the relatively short time he’d been there, Marc had been scarily efficient in holding true to Nicholai’s promise.

Tony’d been beaten to start with, but the enforcer seemed to grow tired of that very quickly. He’d been sliced meticulously with a razor sharp knife in neat little rows all down and across his back, which in and of itself wasn’t too painful on the grand scale of things. However, the lemon juice and then sea salt that had been forcefully rubbed into the wounds had felt pretty damn horrendous. The caning across the small gashes he’d received after had been almost more than he could bare, hard wood falling over and over again directly over the top of the still smarting cuts and embedding the course grains of salt further and further into the raw flesh beneath and then left to slow dissolve.  

Not everything he did resulted in obvious physical injury. One memorable session, the man had taken particular pleasure in reclining him backwards with his head resting in an empty bucket, and then filling it with water and leaving him submerged until he stopped struggling. The man repeated the process over and over, and then would either kick him awake or use a large cattle prod to shock him back into consciousness, leaving behind handful of burn marks scattered across his flesh in addition to the bruises and cuts. The last time he’d blacked out, Ricci had apparently him re-chained him to his chair and then left him to wake up blissfully alone,  dripping a mixture of sweat and blood down his bare chest, his breathing shallow and harsh.

When his consciousness returned it did so slowly, and it took far too long for him to remember where he was or why every part of his body seemed to pulse agonizingly in time with the beating of his heart. Pained hazel eyes eventually blinked open and then he forced himself to lift his head up from where it had been resting limp and uncomfortably to one side, the resulting pain of the movement blending in with all the other aches lighting his body.

He scanned the empty room with relief until they caught on the large power drill that now lay on the floor nearby, bit gleaming eerily in the darkness of the room. His breath froze in his chest as he realized what torture Ricci had in store for him next. If- and he could hardly bring himself to think about it- Ricci drilled that monstrous thing into his joints as he suspected the man planned… Well, it wouldn’t necessarily be crippling, per say, but he likely wouldn’t ever fully recover his mobility. He shuddered, tearing his eyes away and focusing on what else he could see.

Something felt different, but it took his sluggish mind longer than he’d admit before he realized what it was: The engines were silent and the yacht still. Had they gone back to the island, or perhaps one of the others in the area? It hadn’t been long enough for them to have reached the mainland, and the only other alternative he could think of was that they were dead in the water out in the middle of the Pacific, which would be bad news for him all around.

Regardless of why the engines were silent, he knew he couldn’t afford to wait much longer. He was getting too weak far too quickly, and he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough strength to fight back if things continued as they had been, especially if things were going to escalate as it appeared they were. He wasn’t sure if it was day or night- the darkness from the enclosed space making it impossible to tell.

He thought it might be night considering his steady companion was absent- a fairly rare occurrence. As it turned out, being stuck within the confined space of a boat left an enormous amount of free time… Free time that the enforcer put to good use in keeping him company, occasionally accompanied and observed by Nicholai and a few others on more random occasions.

He listened for several long minutes, trying to track who might be moving around the limited space of the boat. Despite his intense focus, he was unable to hear any obvious sounds of footfalls or the chatter that normally accompanied them. Knowing he might not get such a promising opportunity again, he decided to risk the noise being overhead in the quiet and put his plan into action.

He mentally thanked the fact that the men hadn’t bothered to resecure his legs when they’d finished with him the last time- perhaps figuring him too weak now to put up much of an effort to get loose. That was their mistake. Gritting his teeth again the pain he knew was coming, he pushed off his feet and then let gravity pull him over backwards, using his arms as a cushion between the metal and wood floor to absorb the shock and muffle the noise as much as possible.

His injured ribs and battered body sent a sickening jolt through his entire frame and it took a dozen beats of his heart before he was able to take a full lungful of air in through the fog of breath-stealing pain. His legs were still pointed up with his knees curled over the edge of the seat, arms caught  flat under his back against the hard floor as he lay essentially pinned by his own weight.  He knew he couldn’t afford to linger and so forced his sore body into its next motion, spreading his legs until his feet were on the floor on either side of the chair and then using them to wiggle his way backwards until he was sitting upright again.

He continued the motion, ignoring the painful twist that the restraints caused his shoulders and fought his body until he was able work his legs through the odd loop his arms formed. It was difficult and uncomfortable, and there was a thin layer of sweat dotting his face when he finally knelt on the floor with his arms in front of him, handcuff chain still woven through the steel bars of the now empty chair. He used his least sore shoulder to try and wipe at his forehead, but he didn’t have the range of motion for it to be a very helpful gesture.

He was able to examine the tight cuffs encircling his wrists from his new position. He’d already been fairly sure how he was going to have to get loose, but he’d been holding out a spare bit of hope that it might be easier than he was dreading. Unfortunately it seemed his instinct was spot on. Luckily, he’d always had the long slender hands of a pianist, and so the width of his palm wasn’t much more than that of his wrist- or at least it wouldn’t be, once his thumb was out of the way.

Clenching his teeth once more against the pain, he brought his hands as close together as he could get them and then used his right hand to snap the thumb of his left hand free from its socket with a nauseating squelching sound. He began working the hand loose immediately, but it still took longer than he would have liked for the cuff to finally give way and slip down over the tips of his fingers.

When he finally managed it, he had long bloody scratches and furrows from where his flesh had torn in the struggle. He wrapped his good hand around his bizarrely angled thumb and then twisted it forcefully back into place before he could think about it. Only then did he allow himself to pause and catch his breath. His hands were shaking when he pulled them up to cradle against his chest, chain still dangling from his right wrist like a strange bracelet. He clenched his jaw against the throbbing that continued to originate out from his left hand and the tingly sensation that swept over the entirety of both limbs as his blood flow was able to return to normal.

Once he felt like he could move without heaving, he pushed himself shakily to his bare feet and then used trembling fingers to unlatch his thankfully still present belt and pulled it free from the loops. He removed the small knife that was built discreetly into the buckle and then tucked it into his front left pocket. Feeling more secure already,  he wrapped the high quality leather around the palm of his right hand and over the front of his knuckles. He folded the end of the leather under the wrap in his palm to keep it all in place and then fitted the dangling metal cuff over the top, tightening it down to form a makeshift knuckle buster.

He knew there would at least be someone guarding the room he was in, and so he crept quietly through the darkness and pressed his ear up against the wooden door. He still couldn’t hear anything and so, ever so carefully, he reached out to grasp the knob and twisted it until he felt it unlatch. He pulled it open just enough that a small crack of light came though.

Tony pressed his face against the wood in order to be able to peer out though the narrow gap. The hallway beyond was dimly lit and he had to blink rapidly a few times as his pupils constricted to adjust to the sudden influx of light. Sure enough, two men were standing casually about a foot away from the door, backs facing him. The one on the left and closest to him was reclining his shoulder against the wall, while the one on the right was angling slightly towards the first as they spoke quietly.

He clenched the leather and steel in hand tightly as he considered the best steps to take to avoid alerting anyone else on the boat of his escape attempt. He’d prefer not to kill the unknown men, but if it came down to them or him than he’d make damn sure he put up the (literal) fight of his life. The men he was facing clearly had a plan for him- one that didn’t appear to include releasing him once they’d had their fun. As twisted as the memories from that assignment still had the power to make him,  he’d be damned if he went quietly over a series of events that had occurred more than a decade before. He’d survived too much to let **_this_** be what took him out.

He pulled the door forcefully open and took a step forward in the next millisecond. The curve of hardened steel over top of nearly an inch of tightly layered high quality leather collided with the temple of the unsuspecting man on his right, dropping him immediately like a sack of potatoes.  He didn’t hesitate as he wrapped his left elbow around the neck of the man on the left, cutting off his air supply before he could try and turn around to see what has happening.

He dragged the man backwards until they were fully inside the room once more. He was trying to make noise despite his lack of air, and so Tony clenched down tighter, bring his right arm up to press the meat of his forearm against the mans mouth to further muffle the sound. Pain bloomed suddenly as he felt sharp teeth bite down a second later, and he couldn’t help but swear quietly as he instinctually jerked his arm free, fresh blood flowing.

The man twisted under his one armed grip, trying to pry himself loose and break free. Still, Tony had been trained in hand-to-hand by Gibbs and had spared with a first class Secret Service agent and a real life Ninja- and so a simple mobster didn’t stand a chance against him, beaten down and injured or not. He kept his hold for a couple of seconds after the man went limp to ensure he wasn’t faking and then dropped him to join his companion in lying motionlessly on the floor. 

Tony sagged in exhaustion once the weight was gone. That small struggle had taken what little reserve of energy he might have held onto it. It wasn’t surprising, considering the complete lack of sustenance he’d had for the past few days. He’d only been given enough water to keep him from falling to dehydration in the relative heat of their environment, but they hadn't bothered to pass him even the smallest morsel for nourishment. Thus, it was a debate with himself on whether or not he should expend the additional effort to drag the first man into the room as well or to move on quickly and hope for the best.

Deciding he simply couldn’t afford to leave a body lying in the hallway, he moved back over and began the arduous task of maneuvering two hundred pounds of masculine bulk through a narrow doorway without making a sound. His own body protested the strain and he had to bite down on the urge to cough as he began to feel breathless at the exertion. He only bothered to pull him far enough in that he’d be able to shut the door and then dropped him too.

He patted both men down quickly, finding a gun on each and a powered-off cell on one. He pressed the button on the side of the device and then curled his body around it to muffle the noise he knew it would make when it powered on. He cursed silently when he found it with a number lock that he was unable to bypass. The only option he had was to make an emergency call which… actually, wasn’t a bad idea at all. They’d be able to connect him to Five-O and they would be able to trace the signal of the cell.

Heart racing, he used a finger to press the digital button to connect him to 911. He held it up to his ear waiting for the sound of ringing to erupt but it never came. After a few seconds it beeped three times in his ear and disconnected. He pulled it away, heart sinking, when his slow brain realized that he didn’t have a signal. Forcefully shaking off the disappointment, he dropped it into his pocket alongside the knife, and then tucked one of the guns into the back of his slacks. The other he kept clenched in the his left hand, using the pain radiating from his thumb as a focus point as me moved out into the hall.

There was an open doorway a few feet further down. He crept along the wall and peaked his head in around the corner to see what looked like a small galley. There was a small square table holding a mostly empty coffee pot, a large pour container each of sugar and creamer, and a stack of small disposable cups. He started to move on but then paused, looking back at the table consideringly.

Deciding to risk the extra minute it would take, he moved into the rom and over to the pot to look closer. It was less than a third full and had a line forming around the top that showed it had been sitting untouched for quite some time. Uncaring, he unscrewed the sugar container completely and poured the entire thing into the small amount of coffee. It formed a sugar mountain in the middle before it bloomed into a muddy brown color and began to dissolve. He picked up the glass canister and swirled it around to speed up the process and then brought the edge directly to his mouth, not bothering with the laughably small cups available.

It was disgustingly sweet and hard to swallow, sliding thick, grainy and viscous over his tongue and down his reluctant throat to fill his shrunken stomach. The relatively small volume made him feel full about half way though, but he ignored the inconsequential discomfort and forced down the rest of the mixture of caffeine and empty calories that he so desperately needed to give him the energy to face what was likely coming next.

It might have been the placebo effect, but he felt more clear headed and energized immediately. He returned to the hall and moved back passed his prior cell and to the stairwell he’d been forced down those days before. He moved up cautiously and peeked out into the night that was lit brightly by the expansive of stars and a nearly full moon above. 

Fragrantly warm air caressed his face  and he took a deep breath in, feeling better still after so long confined to such a small and stagnant room. The stench of his own filth had become embedded in his nose over the past few days- the coppery tang of his own blood, the edge of citrus and salt that lingered upon his flesh from _that_ memorable session, the sourness of old stale sweat, and even less appealingly- the result of body functions that could only be contained for so long. The nights air felt almost blissful in contrast and helped to shake the lingering fog from his brain.

He could hear voices drifting from far above and thought there may have been a group gathered upon the upper deck that he had noticed upon boarding. Every so carefully did he exit onto the deck, keeping tightly to the shadows despite not actually seeing anyone within his line of sight. He moved around an exterior wall, a thin walkway and a rope separating him from the edge of the yacht and the ocean a good fifteen feet below.

He could see the silhouette of an island far in the distance, concentrated areas of light making him think it was in fact inhabited. He couldn’t have guess _which_ island it was to save his life, but he supposed that wasn’t as important as dry land and people in general. Before he could consider his plan further, a surge of sudden noise erupted from his pocket and shattered the stillness of the night.

Tony started harshly, almost losing his footing in his shock. He scrambled for the phone he’d dropped thoughtlessly into his pocket, kicking himself for not considering the notifications that might have been waiting for the man he’d taken it off of once it connected to a signal. The phone fell from his hands, clattering to the smooth deck before bouncing over the edge to finally be silenced once it hit the water. The return of stillness immediately surrounding him rushed back, but the quiet drift of voices above had already changed to scraping and scrambling with a rush of footfalls moving to investigate his location.

Panic was crawling up his throat as he considered what to do. It took everything he had to forcefully calm himself and focus his scattered thoughts. His head was still lightly spinning and he could hear and feel the _whoosh_ of blood flowing in his ears like a rapid-filled river. He was fairly sure he was concussed by this point, recognizing the similarity of the sensation to the dozen or so he’d been dealt over the course of his life- first as a college athlete and later a law enforcement officer and agent.

Briefly considering removing his makeshift knuckle buster, he instead drew his second weapon and gripped it in spite of the difficulty. He had limited ammo, after all, and he was going to need a back up once he ran out. It was definitely awkward to hold it around the bulge filling his palm, but he managed it well enough. He peeked around the wall to see eight men rushing towards him, weapons of their own already drawn.

He closed his eyes briefly as the reality of the situation made itself obvious and then forcefully moved passed it, hardening himself to do what needed to be done. These people weren’t his family, despite two of the oncoming faces being familiar to him. Those same two faces had watched him being tortured and relished in his agony just hours before, they didn’t deserve his hesitation. They were mobsters and thugs- criminal gang members who were little more than a blight on society, and it was his job to stop them from committing any atrocities such as they had done to him and to countless others before him.

Taking aim, he slowed his breaths as he’d been taught and focused on the target in which he wanted to hit. He used the weapon in his left hand to start with, feeling more confident in shooting with his less dominant hand than he was shooting with the awkward grip he had with his right.

The first shot struck an unknown man in the shoulder rather than the spot he’d actually been aiming for. He fell back regardless and the next shot hit more truly. The sharp cracks splitting the air seemed to draw the others who may have been sleeping below deck and he pulled himself farther down the narrow walkway for better cover. The move sacrificed his line of sight, but he knew he wouldn’t have been able to peer over the top of the wall and around at the stairwell at the same time anyway.

Instead, the move created something of a tunnel effect in that he had a temporary advantage of only two men fitting abreast at the entry of the narrow walkway at a time. The members of the Italian Mafia seemed to realize the strategy quickly, for several broke away to climb higher and jump him from above. He shot the first man that dropped down directly in front of him and knew it was a fatal wound even as he felt the mans blood splatter hotly against his own face from were it was reflected off the smooth wall right next to him. His body caught on the rope at first, but the limpness of the corpse allowed it to fold in on itself enough to fall under the barrier, where gravity took over. 

The next had gotten too close to try and aim at, so he instead pistol-whipped him across the side of the head and watched him fall over the rope railing and flip into the dark water below. The man sunk beneath the surface and didn’t reappear. Tony took a breath and then glanced over to see another group of men four deep rushing towards him and he scrambled to take aim, opening fire without hesitation against the oncoming threat.

His ears were ringing loudly enough to rattle his brain, vision swirling like the waves below and blackness was dotting the edges of his vision in warning. He shook his head harshly, sparing a moment to shuffle his grip and to slap himself sharply across the face to shock himself back into focus. The sting helped clear his vision just in time to brace himself for the next muscle-bound man who dropped down behind him.

He used his elbow to knock the man a step back and then whipped around to knee him harshly in the groin, uncaring to play fair considering his overwhelming disadvantage. The man fell to his knees with a startled grunt and Tony stepped back to kick him squarely in the face with his heel. The mans nose snapped with a sickening crack before he lost his balance and he too fell overboard, arms flailing with nothing to grab ahold of.

Tony spun back around to see Ricci rushing towards him down the narrow walkway and he raised his gun in defense. He couldn’t deny a personal sense of satisfaction when the shot hit true and struck the man in the middle of his forehead. It would have been preferable to send the man back to prison and have him truly atone for his crimes, but the man had already proven by being present that the facilities couldn't hold him for ever. Beyond that, he also knew that prison didn’t really have the same meaning for those types of people and that often death was the only way to truly take them out for good. The graze of a bullet tearing across the flesh of his bicep in return was a worthy sacrifice to exchange for claiming the man’s life.

He ran out of ammunition soon after and tossed his guns aside to draw his small knife free from his pocket. He used that tiny blade and his make shift knuckle-duster to fight from there. He had two men in front of him when a third dropping down on him from above. Overwhelmed and in very real danger of being struck down, Tony forced his exhausted body to fall to the side and over the rope where he too eventually hit the tepid and salty liquid below.

Water rushed over his head as he was submerged fully beneath the surface. A history of watching shark week and a love of low budget shark movies sent an immediate wave of panic thrumming through him at the thought that he was bleeding freely into the inky depths of a tropical ocean. His first instinct was to get his bloody self the fuck out of the water pronto, protective cover it granted him be damned, but he forcefully stilled himself from his panic and commanded his body to stay submerged beneath the dark surface while he instead begin swimming back around the boat.

The rows of small cuts covering his back felt like a lines of fire scoring the flesh and his lungs screamed after only a few seconds but he didn’t allow himself to rise until he knew he was out of sight. He found a metal ladder attached to the far side of the boat and used it to support his weight while he caught his breath and forced down the urge once again to break into a coughing fit. That he wasn’t having to utilize his own waning energy to keep himself afloat was a nice reprieve and he allowed himself to rest there as long as he dared. He shivered despite the warmth of the night and peered up the side of the boat to the lit deck above, knowing it was time to move while he still had an advantage.

He could still hear voices, but they seemed considerably fewer in number than previously. Tony closed his eyes and tried to count how many he’d taken out over the past several minutes. It was hard to recall exactly, things blurring and running together in his aching head, but he knew he had to have taken down at least fifteen before he’d fallen over. How many more could there possibly be? The boat was fairly sized, but it wasn’t huge-huge. He considered pushing off and attempting to swim to the distant shore under the cover of darkness, but he wasn’t confident of his odds should he attempt such a thing- lingering fear of sharks a factor or not.

With only one true choice to make, and using one hand at a time, he began pulling himself back up the rungs of the ladder until he could peek back over the top of the deck. There were only four more men left in motion, and they were scrambling around in a clearly unorganized fashion. One stood near his own position and he considered his next plan of attack.

He waited until they were all facing away from him and then finished ascending upwards until his wet feet his the wooden deck once again. He wrapped his right arm around the mans neck and used his left hand to muffle his yell, dragging him backwards and quickly down the stairs to the interior below. He maintained his grip until  the other man finally faltered and then lay him too down on the floor.

Adrenaline flowed though him as he moved back to the surface, glancing around for the next closest opponent. The three who remained were on the far side, and he realized that he actually had a clear path up the stairs and to the next level where the steering wheel and radio would likely be located. Rather than reengaging, he crept along the wall until he was able to duck and scramble quickly up the stairwell and back out of sight.

No one remained on the deck above, and so Tony assumed they all must have responded to the commotion below. He thanked his lucky stars when he found a radio approximately where he expected to find one, and quickly set to work dialing it over to an official channel. “Mayday, Mayday. This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS. Do you read me? Over.”

He waited one, two, three beats of his heart before someone finally responded. “Affirmative, Agent DiNozzo. We’ve been looking for you. What is your location? Over.”

An explosive breath was released as he sagged in relief, feeling dizzy and weak as the adrenaline began to fade, perhaps prematurely. “My location is unknown. I’m on a large pleasure vessel near an unknown island within approximately three days travel of Oahu. Over.” He announced succinctly, voice rough.  

“Copy that. We are triangulating your signal now. Please stand by. Over.”

~*~

 Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will it be smooth sailing from here, or will Tony still have a fight on his hands? 
> 
> Two chapters to go! I hope you are all still enjoying this :) I hope I made things believable!! Next chapter will be the fallout and Tony heading back to DC... AND what you've likely all been waiting for- some Tony and Steve romance! I'm also thinking this may get extended for an additional chapter in the form of a epilogue depending on how things flow. Your feedback, as always, motivates me to write faster! Thank you so much to those who are still reading and especially to those who have left comments and Kudos!


	16. Chapter 16

_Last time:_

_“Mayday, Mayday. This is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS. Do you read me? Over.”_

_He waited one, two, three beats of his heart before someone finally responded. “Affirmative, Agent DiNozzo. We’ve been looking for you. What is your location? Over.”_

_An explosive breath was released as he sagged in relief, feeling dizzy and weak as the adrenaline began to fade, perhaps prematurely. “My location is unknown. I’m on a large pleasure vessel near an unknown island within approximately three days travel of Oahu. Over.” He announced succinctly, voice rough._

_“Copy that. We are triangulating your signal now. Please stand by. Over.”_

~*~

‘The relief Tony felt at hearing ‘Please stand by’ was quickly chased away when he heard commotion moving up the stairs and towards his new position. There wasn’t anywhere to take cover in the small room and he was surrounded by a two foot tall swatch of windows that fully encircled the elevated helm.

Still, he knew he had to try, and that he didn’t have much time to do it. He scurried as much as his abused body would let him until he was kneeling against the wall next to the door, head just barely under the line of windows. If the oncoming men opened the door or stood closely enough to peer at a downward angle, he’d be made in an instant. He hadn’t taken the time to collect any more ammo, though he was regretting the decision as he waited.

“-take the upper deck.” A voice commanded form mere feet away. “I’m going to call in and see where we’re at with out ride out of here.”

Tony folded his body lower still, practically holding his breath in anticipation. He didn’t have another struggle left in him, he knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Drawn out conflict would likely claim his life considering the poor state he was in, and so he’d have to strike quickly and lethally if he hoped to be alive when his rescue arrived.  

The door opened and one of the three remaining men strode confidently inside, never glancing down as he walked straight past the poorly hidden man and to the radio beyond. He clearly didn’t expect Tony’s presence back aboard the yacht judging by the sudden widening of his eyes and the quick intake of breath he took when he saw the reflection of the agent springing forward from behind him.

Tony stumbled slightly as the knee he’d blown out in college choose that moment to try and buckle under his weight, but he was somehow luckily enough to regain his footing before the blunder became fatal. He had already freed his hand from the metal cuff while he’d been waiting, choosing dexterity over blunt force for what was to come. As a result, the handcuff clanked against painfully against his ulna. He ignored the annoying sensation as his left hand wrapped firmly around the nose and mouth of the man to keep him quiet while the small knife in his right hand came up to slice through his neck.

There was absolutely no resistance in the motion, and Tony pushed the thought of it forcefully from his mind as he focused on the more important events still occurring. The agent released his hold as the man succumbed to gravity and stumbled across the remaining floor to collide heavily with the glass of the window. He didn’t remain teetering there for long before his weight tipped sideways and he finished his descent by falling heavily to the floor, blood bubbling from his parted lips and pouring freely from the gaping gash spitting his jugular to stain his shirt and coat the floor with the thick crimson substance. Tony had the feeling he’d be seeing blood in his dreams for quite some time to come, should his luck hold and he actually manage to make it out of the FUBAR situation he found himself entrapped in.

He did have the clarity to relieve the man of his weapon before moving back to reclaim his initial position by the radio, feeling slightly more secure both with the odds increasing slightly in his favor and to be truly armed once more. The radio buzzed to life beside his head a few seconds later. “We have triangulated your position, Agent DiNozzo. A bird is en route to you now, ETA twelve minutes.  Sitrep? Over.”

“Acknowledged, Command.” His head buzzed as he tried to remember the correct terminology that should be used in a situation such as he found himself in. Finally deciding that sharing the information for the incoming team was more important than _how_ he shared it, he continued to speak as steadily as possible, though he didn’t realize just how much his strain was being transmitted with his words. “Situation is… FUBAR. I’ve got at least two active hostiles on site, positions are currently unknown…-“ Tony froze as he heard two sets of feet moving towards him and continued to transmit dead air for a long moment.

When he spoke again, his voice was even quieter with a sharp edge. “-Hostiles incoming, stand by and maintain radio silence until my say so. Over.” He commanded before dropping the transceiver back into its cradle. He didn’t think he’d be able to make it back across the room, and so he dropped to put his back against the flat stretch of wall nearest to his position that still allowed him a clear line of sight to the door.

 Once as settled as he was going to get, the agent focused his attention on the weapon in hand, automatically moving to press firmly against the small button he knew would drop the clip. Four rounds were left, with a fifth already in the chamber. It wasn’t a lot to work with, but it would hopefully be enough. He shoved the clip back into place and then drew his weapon up to aim though the black dots spotting his vision and the tremor trying to set into his hands.

He clocked the two remaining men as they approached, spotting them through the window before they spotted him, distracted as they were speaking together quietly as they approached. The first man made eye contact with him through the glass just before Tony pulled the trigger.

The sound of gun fire within a confined space was always loud, but it seemed even more so than should have been possible. ‘ _Four_.’ He counted to himself as his hands moved to aim at the next target. It took him longer than it should have t to realize the first man was still standing and that the bullet hadn’t actually penetrated the window at all- that it had in fact hardly left a scratch on what he realized had to be a bullet proof surface.

It made sense, considering who the yacht was associated with, and he silently cursed himself for not thinking about the possibility ahead of time. Having undeniably lost his advantage of discretion, Tony tensed in preparation for the incoming bullets and watched in what seemed like slow motion as the door was flung open.

He forced himself to hold until he had a clear line of sight, ignoring the premature eruption of spray that went wide caught within the swing of the door. Tony pulled the trigger before the man holding the semi-automatic could readjust and a bullet of his own collided forcefully with the mans forehead. It was almost two inches off center, but it did the job all the same. ‘ _Three_.’   

The last man had used the first’s own entrance to enter the small room unharmed and had quickly stepped away to force Tony to split his attention. The searing pain of a gunshot wound split the flesh of his side and he may well have  cursed aloud that time. As a result, his next shot went low and collided with the floor. ‘ ** _Two_**.’ He scolded himself angrily. ‘ _Get it together, DiNozzo. It’s now or never_.’

His next shot hit the man’s shoulder, jerking him back oddly as it connected. ‘ _One_.’ Tony fired his last shot right after the one before and watched with a swell of relief as the last goon stumbled back and collapsed himself a second later. He knew he should have pressed forward to disarm the men incase they were still somehow still alive, but the new rush of warmth flowing down his side made him think the task was less important than in otherwise might have been.

The dots dancing across his vision grew larger and less focused, head swaying with the music pounding from within his veins. He knew there was more he needed to do, but he couldn’t really remember what it was or why it was so important. After a minute, he couldn’t even bring himself to try and remember, instead giving in to the pull of darkness dragging him under.

~*~

Steve rarely found himself feeling as lost as he did in the days following the NCIS agents sudden and unexpected disappearance. After sweeping the empty building they knew had previously held their missing man, the team set out to systematically and personally interrogate every single person brought in over the course of the investigation. There were far too many people to get though with them working together, and so each member of Five-O had their own group of suspects to work through. All of the interviews were recorded and any member could call the others in if they discovered anything useful.

Unfortunately for them, it seemed that everyone actually involved in the agents disappearance had excused themselves before Tony himself had. Sworn testimony from the next-to-last person who’d been in the room was very clear in that he’d left the agent, Wo Fat, and the two cousins completely alone in the dining room with his own departure. Another swore he’d witnessed the man being escorted through the home with his arms restrained before the explosions started. Another still swore he’d seen the man shot clean though and left to burn with the rest of it.

Theories and stories aside, the majority of the thirteen bodies they’d pulled from the rubble had been identified already, and those who hadn’t had been found dissimilar enough to prove they weren’t the missing agent.  The cousins seemed to have gone to ground as well, for no sign was found of either within the devastated shell of the home once valued at a multi-million dollar figure.

The fire had destroyed most of the physical evidence that might otherwise have been collected within, making their jobs that much more difficult. HPD had units crawling all over the island, tracking down long-shot leads in hopes of getting a lucky break. The Coast Guard had been put on alert and had their own units searching the vast surrounding seas. The Navy had become informed at some point as well, and Steve had received a video call from Captain Owens assuring the team that all deployed vessels in the area were keeping their own eyes open for anything promising or suspicious they might come across. They weren’t able to do more than that without official orders from Washington, but they would do what they could.

The team had already run out of people to interview when they received a transmission from the US Coast Guard three and a half days later, informing them that NCIS Special Agent DiNozzo had radioed in a distress signal from near one of the lesser-inhabited islands within the chain. They set off on the journey immediately, Steve borrowing Kamekona’s tour-copter to cut out the majority of the travel time to their destination.

~*~

It took longer than any of them were comfortable before they stepped foot on the deck of the suspiciously quiet yacht moored nearly a mile from the nearby island. Thermal imaging showed a large number of cooling bodies spread across the decks of the boat, but they wouldn’t know which was their missing agent until they could search themselves.

They split into teams, all happy to have Kono back with them, and did a quick sweep while being trailed distantly by their backup. Kono and Chin took the lower decks while Steve and Danny covered the main and upper decks. It didn’t take the two long to find their missing man after that, and it was only a lifetime of paranoia that caused Steve to take the time to secure the room before rushing across to the downed agent.

DiNozzo was covered with more blood than could possibly have been his own, and appeared to have taken a swim in the ocean. He was pale under his tan, skin covered in a multitude of injuries that would need to be evaluated in a better setting than the one they found themselves in. The man’s head was slumped oddly off to the side and he was unconscious.

Steve lifted his steady fingers up to the side of the agents neck to check for a pulse. He found one thumping slowly beneath the surface and a small sigh of relief escaped him as he moved to cup the side of the man’s face with a gloved hand- his pointer finger the only digit exposed to allow him to better feel the pull of his trigger. “DiNozzo.” He said softly, aware of Danny hanging back by the door to allow him a moment.

Brows furrowed but lids didn’t move to open. “DiNozzo.” He said again more firmly, allowing a bit of authority to seep into his tone. The command seemed to do the trick, because a thin line of hazel appeared for a just a moment at first, and then a longer moment as he seemed to regain awareness of the situation.

The agent startled initially, hand tightening around the handle of the weapon still clutched in his right hand and resting across his lap, despite being empty. When he realized who crouched in front of him, his brows furrowed again. He tried to speak, but his tongue felt heavy and thick in his mouth. He cleared his throat roughly and tried again. “Clear?” He asked, needing to be sure.

“Yeah, buddy, we’re all clear.” Steve reassured him, voice low. “Let’s get you out of here. Can you walk?”

~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait and for the disgustingly short chapter!! Life has been absolutely crazy lately!! Some of you may remember that I graduated Uni last year and I’m happy to say I just accepted a new job and will be making almost double my current salary! My series of interviews have kept the majority of my attention over the past couple of weeks and I haven’t been able to focus enough to write anything you’d want to read. 
> 
> I had intended this to be about double the length it is now, but I won’t be able to write more until this weekend (at the earliest!), and so I polished up what I had mostly done and decided to give it to you guys now. I also extended the length (again, sorry!), and am planning for 20 chapters total. I realized I’ve turned this completely into a case fic, which wasn’t my original intention. The next few chapters will focus fully on the boys and their developing relationship (I promise!). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite its short length (and despite the errors you may stumble across)! Thanks so much for hanging in there with me!


	17. Chapter 17

Brows furrowed but lids didn’t move to open. “DiNozzo.” He said again more firmly, allowing a bit of authority to seep into his tone. The command seemed to do the trick, because a thin line of hazel appeared for a just a moment at first, and then a longer moment as he seemed to regain awareness of the situation.

The agent startled initially, hand tightening around the handle of the weapon still clutched in his right hand and resting across his lap, despite it being empty. When he realized who crouched in front of him, his brows furrowed again. He tried to speak, but his tongue felt heavy and thick in his mouth. He cleared his throat roughly and tried again. “Clear?” He asked, needing to be sure.

“Yeah, buddy, we’re all clear.” Steve reassured him, voice low. “Let’s get you out of here. Can you walk?”

~*~

Tony hummed jaggedly as he shifted his body one limb at a time, testing his strength and pain level before actually attempting to stand. Any lingering adrenaline seemed to have faded with his short nap, and he felt so lethargic that he honestly wasn’t sure of the answer to the question. It was only his own strength of will and stubbornness to leave on his own two feet that had him gripping Steve’s gloved hand and using the other man’s strength to lever himself up off the floor.

Danny had crossed the room with the start of the motion and so was in place to provide support on his left side while Steve took a hold of his right elbow. Danny choose to hover without actually touching, but it was more out of fear of hurting the man who seemed to be injured or bloody everywhere Danny thought to grab. He and Steve exchanged a long glance across the mess of the NCIS agent’s back- random trickles of half dried blood had been smeared from the small cut scored into his black and blue flesh, making the image appear as some sort of bizarre macabre and abstract painting.

Luckily, Tony was out of it enough by that point that he didn’t fully remember the passage back through the yacht and to the hovering helicopter waiting to lift him aboard and take him to the hospital. The pain was still there, but it buzzed on his peripheral alongside the dancing black spots that occasionally managed to draw him back into the darkness before he shook it off once more. He was strapped into the rig and floating before he realized what was happening, and he began to feel nauseous about half way up.

He swallowed harshly and gripped the rope hooked to the front of the harness he’d been strapped into, not liking the helpless and unprotected position so soon after so many close calls and without knowing for sure that there weren’t potential enemies still around who could take aim at his exposed back. He twisted his head to look back at the boat, only to see the law enforcement agents swarming across the deck in a joint effort to process the scene, each carrying a bright flashlight and lighting the night.

His eyes found Steve and where the man appeared to be giving commands judging by the motions of his hands. The SEAL seemed to feel his gaze, because he turned then and glanced up to seemingly lock eyes with Tony who was now a few dozen feet above the yacht, sending him a reassuring look before turning back to the task at hand. Tony felt noticeably more at ease from the brief exchange and a swell surged in his chest as he realized he actually trusted the Commander to protect his six.

It was a foreign sensation he realized next with a feeling of discontent. When was the last time he was truly at ease lying his life in someone else’s hands? More importantly, when had the feeling a trust become such a bizarre thing to him that it was noteworthy? It was all too much to contemplate just then, but it didn’t matter. He reached the open door of the helicopter and felt his weight shift as he was pulled skillfully inside. He lost consciousness before he could even be strapped to the small portable gurney.

~*~

It was nearing dawn when Steve walked into the large medical facility housing one Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and he hadn’t even taken the time to go home and shower before hopping in his own truck and making the drive over. Luckily, it was early enough that he didn’t pass too many people on his journey through the sterile building.

The others on the team had volunteered to come with him, but he’d declined and sent them all home to rest before they had to meet back at HQ to wrap up the investigation. It had been a long night for all involved and it was doubtful Tony would even be awake or aware of his visitors so it was better all around for him to go by himself… Okay, there might have been a bit selfish desire mixed in there as well, but a very small part and not something he’d admit to, besides.

He was directed to the right room by the staff who’d become vaguely familiar to him over the years of fairly frequent visits spread between him and his teammates. The Agent was indeed asleep when he arrived silent as a ghost and took an exhausted seat beside the slumbering man’s bed after pulling up a chair that had previously been pushed back into the corner and out of the way.

The Reserve SEAL found himself lost in thought as his eyes scanned the spread of injuries visible above the bed covers. He leaned forward and ran his own calloused fingertips lightly over the purple skin molting the agents jaw, avoiding the scab in the middle from where his flesh had split under the force of the blow. His arms were lying atop the covers and it made it easy to see the neatly wrapped bandages looping around his left bicep while his right elbow held a neatly tapped IV with a couple of clear lines going up to the machine and pole positioned near the head of the bed. His chest and torso appeared to be similarly wrapped in clean white gauze, which hid the extend of the damage beneath from his eyes. 

Steve found himself softly stroking the back of the right hand lying closest to him. It seemed to be fairly undamaged, and so he didn’t have to worry about causing the other man pain with the motion. He’d still felt fairly energized upon his arrival, but the more time that passed, the more his own feelings of exhaustion began to set in. His neck and shoulders, sore and tired from days of unyielding tenseness, relaxed for the first time as he slumped down further in the uncomfortable chair.

The sleep he fell into wasn’t deep, and he in fact ‘woke’ every time one the nurse came into the room for her hourly rounds. It wasn’t very restful, and perhaps he should have gone home to get some true sleep himself, but even with the interruptions he felt better knowing he was at the man’s side. He was glad he stayed when a new nurse coming on for day shift bustled into the room nearing eight in the morning The nursing assistant followed her into the room and began getting vital signs while the first woman began messing with the programming of the IV and matching the information with what was on the computer screen.

Steve had stood and moved around to the wall to get out of their way, leaning tiredly against the side of the counter while he waited. He had a good vantage point when the agent experience a whole body twitch and then his eye lids began to flutter. Steve moved around to the open left side of the bed in a few large strides, leaning down to stroke the man’s hair back from his forehead. “Tony?” He asked quietly, hoping a familiar voice would help the struggle he was having at waking fully. “Hey bud, you awake?”

The aide finished taking the blood pressure and pulled the cuff free with the loud ripping sound of strong Velcro coming loose. The nurse took her place as she gathered her equipment and left the room. “Agent DiNozzo?” The woman questioned, laying a petite hand on the man’s wrist. “My name is Lynnea, I’m going to be your nurse here for the day. Can you hear me?”

Steve watched the scene as the agent appeared to fall deeper back into sleep. The woman’s lips curled in what was supposed to be a reassuring expression, Steve was sure. “Don’t worry that he hasn’t woken yet,” She said softly. “his body has been under a lot of stress, and there may be lingering effects from the anesthetic he was given upon his arrival. The doctor believes he’ll awaken some time this morning. When he does, will you please press the call light so we can come do a full evaluation?”

“Yeah, ‘course.” He replied, voice gravely.

The nurse took her leave and Steve made his way back around to his chair to sit heavily. When he glanced up again, it was to see hazel eyes focused directly on him. “Tony!” He exclaimed in surprise, standing once more to lean over the bed. His hand automatically found it’s way to the man’s mussed hair and Tony smiled at him in response.

“Hey.” He rasped painfully, throat feeling dry as a desert. Steve immediately broke away and returned with a small plastic cup of water. “Thanks.” He said more easily after the soothing drink. “What day’s it?”  

“It’s Wednesday morning now.”

“And how long was I gone?”

“Almost four days. We just got you back a few hours ago.”

So he’d been pretty spot on in his estimation of the passing days- that was good to know. It was also good to know he’d only been out for a few hours. It meant his injuries likely weren’t too serious. He tore his eyes from the attractive face leaning over into his line of sight and glanced around for the IV pole he knew from experience would be nearby. He could make out the words ‘Amoxicillin’ and ‘Sodium Chloride 0.9% on the two hanging bags. The familiar combination of antibiotic and saline was yet further assurance of his continued good health. Should he have been worse off, he knew he would have been hooked to a wider array of bags.

His eyes pulled back to the Commander when he noticed movement. It looked like he was going for the call button placed strategically on the bed and so Tony’s hand lifted automatically to stop him. He realized he must also be on some pretty strong pain killers, because the sudden motion didn’t cause the swell of pain he instinctually braced himself for. Steve’s eyes met his once more. “The nurse wanted me to call her back when you woke up so she could check you over.” He explained softly, brows furrowed slightly with his continued concern, despite the relief that was helping to counterbalance the emotion with Tony’s consciousness and clear-headed conversation.

“I know,” Tony acknowledged, relaxing when Steve’s hand moved away to take his own to help settled it back on the bed. The Commander lent over to lower the beds railing and then moved to perch  himself on the edge of the mattress close beside him, one foot propped up on his abandoned chair for balance. Tony waited until he was settled to continue. “I heard her. ‘Was waiting for her to leave. I hate dealing with the docs as soon as I wake up.”

Steve smiled at that, relaxing himself and squeezing the hand he’d grasped lightly upon settling himself. “Spend a lot of time waking up in hospitals?” He questioned with a teasing edge.

“More than I’d like. This time’s definitely my favorite.”

“Your favorite, huh? Why’s that?”

“Better company than I’m used to.”

Steve smiled again, a slow unfurling on his lips as his brow raised at the blatant flirtation. “You know,” He began, words coming just as slowly as he thought over what he wanted to say. “the case is pretty much wrapped up at this point. We have a few loose ends to tie up, but nothing you need to worry about. We’ll need to get your official statement when you’re ready, but Danny can do that whenever you feel up to it.”

“Oh?” Tony questioned, liking the direction he was going.

Steve nodded, leaning closer. “So really, if you think about it, we aren’t technically working together anymore. I know that was something you were concerned about.”

The NCIS agent smiled softly himself. He hadn’t hidden the reason for his own hesitation, and he was grateful the man had acquiesced so easily to his feelings on the subject at the time. “That’s true.” He acknowledged aloud, tone relaying his own openness to the suggestion coating Steve’s voice.

“Mmm,” He Commander hummed. “so the way I see it - since we’re done working together- there’s not really anything left to stop this from happening …” He didn’t keep moving closer, but paused a short distance away to wait for the agent to give some form of his permission for things to progress further than he’d allowed thus far. If the man hesitated or protested the slightest amount than he’d back off without question, but he was really hoping that it wouldn’t happen again.

Instead of doing either, Tony flipped his right hand over so he could weave their fingers together in a more secure hold than the loose one they already held. He tugged lightly in invitation and his smile widened as the Commander moved in immediately after receiving that silent consent. Steve leaned further over the reclined man, pausing only when he came to be a mere inch or so away. He brushed his nose lightly along the side of Tony’s as his eyes dropped to lock on the chapped lips below.

He moved in that last little bit slowly, savoring the moment they’d both been looking forward to for what felt like longer than the mere week and a half or so they’d known each other. Their lips finally came together in what was just a light brush of skin at first. The motion was repeated, and then repeated again, and then again. They lingered a moment longer with each brush of their lips, the kiss becoming just the slightest bit deeper. Steve’s left hand was being used to keep his body perched above the other man, so he gently freed his right from Tony’s so that he could cup the side of the man’s head, fingers wrapping themselves lightly in his soft hair.

Neither could be sure of how long they lingered there in the moment. In fact, they continued to dawdle there blissfully until the shrill ringing of a phone cut through the morning hush. Steve froze, and then groaned quietly as he dropped his head to rest lightly against the side of Tony’s own forehead. He pulled back with great reluctance three rings later and pulled the device free of his pocket to answer. Their gazes remained locked as the Commander took the call. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He finally acknowledged before disconnecting. He sighed again through his nose and then leaned forward one last time to press a lingering kiss against the corner of Ton’s mouth in apology.

While Tony was nice and distracted chasing the kiss, he moved his hand and pressed the call button before the agent could stop him again. He smiled in apology at the frown it earned him. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll come and see you when I can later today.”

“Bring food?”

Steve laughed quietly. “I’m sure they’ll feed you before I get back.”

Tony’s lip curled. “Hospital food’s always the worst.” He complained lightly, knowing the man needed to leave but wanting the easy conversation to continue before he was left alone at the tender mercy of the medical staff.

“You’ve clearly never had to live on military rations.”

“That’s the real reason I would never consider enlisting.” Tony joked back. He glanced up as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye to see a nurse bustle through the door and enter the room without pause. He couldn’t help but frown again, disappointed, but it disappeared when Steve laughed quietly again and pressed his lips lingeringly against his temple rather than his mouth in light of the newcomer.

“I’ll see you tonight.” He repeated before standing and moving towards the day. “Get some rest.” He ordered just before disappearing. Tony watched him until he was out of sight, only then giving his attention to the nurse who’d been chattering away in  a friendly tone. He felt a tickle in his throat and fought the urge to cough for a moment before giving in and letting it out. It wracked his frame, jarring his entire body and causing his soreness to break through despite the pain meds he clearly had on board.

The nurse raised the head of his bed from further from the small incline it had been positioned in and handed him a refilled cup of water, frowning in concern and pulling out her stethoscope to listen to his lungs once he had finished drinking. Exam complete, she announced that the doctor would be right in and then was gone as quickly as she’d come. Tony glanced around the sterile room as he was left alone and sighed as the familiar smell of antiseptic and bleach filled his nose.

~*~

The doctor’s visit was uneventful for the most part. He was given a rundown of his full list of injuries and informed that he received four units of blood while in surgery to sew up his wound and make sure the bullet hadn’t nicked anything internally that would cause problems down the line.  He did announce that some fluid had gathered in his lungs and that they would keep an eye on it as the day progressed, but that he was otherwise recovering without complication. He’d been lucky, the bullet to his abdomen had missed his vital organs and had passed cleanly through with a surprisingly little amount of damage. As long as he took it easy, the doctor believed the wound would heal with little more than a scar.  

As the morning passed slowly by, the urge to cough increased in frequency until his throat was raw and his chest _ached_ with each breath. All of the coughing was hell on the sutures in his abdomen and on the scabbed over cuts covering his back. His bandages had been changed at some point because of the rapidly growing number of blood spots soiling the cloth. By ten o’clock, he’d been officially diagnosed with Aspiration Pneumonia, likely caused by his drawn out drowning session and then intensified by his late night swim in the ocean. By noon, the doctor was concerned enough to contact his specialist back on the mainland for a telephone consultation. By three, he was being loaded into an ambulance for transportation to the military flight that was going to deliver him back to DC to be treated directly by Dr. Pitt.

Tony wanted to call Steve and let him know what was going on, but he hadn’t been given his cell back and he couldn’t seem to remember any of the phone numbers he’d been given to call from his room phone. He had tried to call the operator and was transferred to the Palace, but he couldn’t get the receptionist to do anything other than take a message to pass to the team upon their return from the field. He was strapped to a gurney with an oxygen mask strapped to his face before he knew it, and then it was too late to do anything about it.  

He fell asleep less than an hour into the flight, body needing the rest more and more as the pneumonia dug it’s claws deeper into his scar covered lungs. A medic was flying with him and informed him when he spiked a fever mid way across the ocean.

He felt more terrible than ever when they finally touched down in DC and he was almost grateful to be wheeled inside Bethesda a few minutes later. Brad met him while he was being processed and took over immediately, evaluating him himself and passing on verbal orders to the nurse standing by. A clean room was apparently being held for him, so he was taken straight in without delay.

Blood was drawn immediately and sent for testing and a respiratory therapist appeared to give him the first of many breathing treatments he’d receive over the next few days. He found out a couple of hours later that infection had set in quickly as his damaged lung tissue became irritated by the coughing, causing the fever. Luckily Brad was familiar enough with Tony’s body that he was able to get him on the right mix of antibiotics almost immediately to begin fighting back.

They caught it early enough that they were able to get it under control before it could worsen too much, but it was still an unpleasant experience to add to his pained body. He was kept medicated to a certain extent, but Brad was worried about over sedation and the inherent risk of pneumonia that came with the prolonged use of narcotics. Considering Tony was already fighting pneumonia, he was extremely cautious of doing anything that could cause it to worsen.

Thus, while it ended up being an extremely uncomfortable week in isolation, he was otherwise unharmed and eventually discharged. He had requested what remained of his team at NCIS not be notified of his arrival back stateside, and so had remained blessedly unbothered during his stay. Abby was likely the only one who would have visited anyways- McGee apparently still down in Cybercrimes and Ziva back in Israel. And as fond as he was of Abby, he didn’t quite feel up to dealing with her level of exhausting energy.

Instead, he’d convinced Brad to discharge him just before his end of shift so that he could give him a ride home on his way. He couldn’t prevent the doctor from accompanying him up to his apartment out of concern, but was soon left alone in the silent and musty space, having retrieved his spare key from a plant further down the hall. Even in summer, DC felt positively frigid compared to the heat of the islands and so he’d changed into a pair of warm sweats and a Buckeye hoodie warn soft from years of use. Feeling cozy, he wandered back through the space to his piano and took a seat at the bench, lifting the cover to press softly on a couple of the keys.

He began to play a song, losing himself in the music and enjoying the sensation after months of being without. He was drawn out of his trance a while later with a knock on his door. He frowned as he rose to go look through the peep hole, wondering who could possibly know he was there to come knocking. It couldn’t be Brad again, he’d left less than an hour ago, and no one else knew he was home.

Steve was the last person he expected to see standing on the other side. His eyes widened and he hurried to unlock the door, pulling it open a moment later. “Steve?!” He exclaimed as soon as they stood face to face.

“Hey.” The man responded. Tony realized he had his backpack over his shoulder and the rest of his belongings sat of the floor beside him. Tony moved to relieve him of his burden immediately, but Steve shrugged him off and caught him by the front of his shirt. Tony stilled and came to a stop eye to eye with the other man.

Tony smiled in bemusement as Steve dropped his hands to grasp Tony’s waist and draw him closer. “What are you doing here? How’d you know where I live? How’d you know I was home, for that matter?” He questioned rapidly.

“I got your address from your driver’s license. I’ve been waiting in DC for you to be discharged. Uh, Kono had a flag to notify her when you were released.”

“If you’ve been in DC, why didn’t you come to Bethesda?”

Steve paused, looking at him with a light frown. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about me showing up in your life here, or in what capacity. I figured it would be better for me to wait until you were home and we could figure that stuff out together. Plus,  I have quite a bit of vacation time built up. Thought this might be a good time to use some.”

Tony smiled again, feeling touched at the man’s forethought for him potentially not bring out at work, however unnecessary a concern it might be. He was never one to be ashamed of his partners, even if he didn’t openly announce it at work when he dated one of his own gender. Gibbs was aware, of course, and Abby. Ducky knew too, for a reason that still brought a flush to his cheeks to remember, but he didn’t think Ziva or McGee had ever caught on. Still, he wouldn’t be ashamed if they ever did, and he wouldn’t try to hide Steve if they did seriously begin to date.

He was hoping the mans presence was a good sign for the future, and he was very much looking forward to seeing how things progressed. He hadn't been thrilled to be pulled away so abruptly and with things still so new.  Some things were better expressed physically rather than said, and so instead of responding verbally, he leaned in for a welcoming kiss.

~*~

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions, comments, concerns? I'd love to hear what you think! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is half from Steve's perspective for those of you who have expressed an interest and half the shameless porn other's of you have been waiting for. Please note that the Mature rating comes into play here, along with the newly added tags. Thank you and I hope you enjoy!

He was hoping the mans presence was a good sign for the future, and he was very much looking forward to seeing how things progressed. He hadn't been thrilled to be pulled away so abruptly and with things still so new.  Some things were better expressed physically rather than said, and so instead of responding verbally, he leaned in for a welcoming kiss.

~*~

~*~ Steve’s POV- after leaving Tony at the hospital ~*~

~*~

Steve felt a thousand times lighter when he stepped out into the already strong morning sun and headed for his truck. He’d been preparing himself for the worst possible outcome since Tony’d first been taken. That’s not to say he’d accepted that potential result by any means, but he’d seen first hand how twisted the world could be and so had learned to brace himself against the devastation that always had the possibility of following.

Even that initial call informing him of the distress signal hadn’t offer much in the way of comfort. He knew Tony being alive to make such a call didn’t actually mean much in the grand scheme of things, not with everything still so up in the air, and especially not when he learned that the man had two active hostiles at his location and that the last thing he’d done was to request radio silence before going and remaining dark.

 The drive to the beach and then the flight to a luckily neighboring island seemed to pass by like molasses, and he was glad to be the one driving and then flying because at least it gave him a task to focus on. The absolutely last thing Steve could have expected to find was their missing man sitting unbothered and awaiting the extraction that was entirely of his own making, having somehow, beyond all imaginable odds, managed to disable every single hostile aboard the sizeable yacht and secure his own extraction.

The growing feelings he had for the NCIS agent took a sudden and swift upturn at the sight he made sitting there on the floor, bloodied back propped against a sleek wall and a gun clasped firmly in hand, seemingly ready to take on whatever else they tried to throw at him. Never mind that the gun was found to be empty, because he was clearly just as lethal with the almost laughably small knife found lying on the floor next to him if the bodies downed by a slit throat were any indication.

Steve hade felt another small suge of anticipation when they’d entered the room they could see him in and there wasn’t an immediate response to their intrusion, but it was alleviated quickly with his wakening soon after. That the Agent was able to walk out more or less on his own was another impressive feat, and Steve found his respect growing further still. They got him up on deck and strapped into the harness as smoothly as possibly and then he was left empty-handed while he watched the man being lifted away from his sight and towards the chopper hovering above.

As much as he wanted to travel with them to help ensure the Agents continued health, he knew he had to focus on his own job and let the medics do theirs. And so it was hours later before he saw the man again. Even then, they didn’t get nearly as much waking time together as he would have liked before he was called away to wrap up the innumerous bits and pieces of the case still strewn around with naught but a promise to visit later.  

It was nearing six in the evening by the time they headed back to the Palace to wrap things up for the night. Danny made a comment about stopping in at the hospital on the way since they’d be driving right past it. Considering Steve had planned on being back there already, he agreed to the suggestion with the addition of stopping for some grub to take along with them, citing the earlier request.

A part of him wanted to hurry back to HQ to take care of the paperwork that couldn’t be put off so that he’d be free in truth, but he was sure he’d get caught up for at least a couple more hours and he didn’t want to keep the man waiting until eight or nine if he really was expecting or hoping for a meal that didn’t’ come from a cafeteria. They hit a drive thru near by and then headed into the medical center together.

They made it all the way to the unit and to the door of Tony’s room before things fell apart. The door stood open, privacy curtain’s pushed back against the wall and bed empty and newly made waiting for its next occupant. Steve paused, double checking the number next to the door. It was definitely the same room and so, after trading a look with Danny, he turned and made his way to the nurses station at the other end of the hall.

The only information they were willing to give him was that Mr. DiNozzo had been transferred into the care of his personal physician and was no longer a patient of their facility. Every other question they posed was met with refusals citing privacy law.

Danny was getting visibly annoyed and Steve was nearing the point of walking out when he spotted someone who might actually be helpful. He broke away from the blond man and the equally annoyed looking head nurse and moved quickly out the entry doors and into the larger corridor beyond the unit. “Lynnea!” He spoke, pitching his voice to carry. The nurse from that morning paused and turned around to look.

“Ah, Commander McGarrett! I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” She greeted, sounding friendly if not a bit confused. “How is Agent DiNozzo doing?”

“Well that’s the thing,” Steve began, crossing his arms. “I’ve been out in the field all day and we just got in. Where is he? They said he was transferred?”

“Oh!” The woman exclaimed. “You don’t know?” She sounded confused once again. She had clearly witnessed their closeness that morning and so didn’t understand why the man wouldn’t know that his partner had been transferred to facility nearly half way around the globe. “I’m sorry…” She continued, shaking her head slightly. “I’m not really allowed to give you patient information without a release on file-“

“Yeah, HIPAA, I know, I’ve heard. Is there _anything_ you can tell me? Can’t you least tell me _which_ facility he was transferred to?”

The nurse looked torn, and so Steve pressed harder. It would be so much easier if someone would just tell him what he wanted to know. He was going to get the information one way or another, and the continued delay just felt totally unnecessary. “C’mon, help me out, -“ he lowered his voice, tone taking on an imploring note and could see her start to bend. “-Tony was fine when I left this morning, and you have to know he wouldn’t want me to be stuck here worrying about him and without even knowing where he is or why he was suddenly transferred! I don’t understand what’s going on- the doctor said things were looking good less than twelve hours ago, so why was he moved?”

The woman caved at the honesty he was expressing in his tone and body language alike. She glanced around and bit her lip lightly as she considered her words. “Look, uh, my, um, my little brother is gay, and I, uh, I know how careful he has to be sometimes to keep that part of his life private.” She paused and shook her head lightly before continuing. “I imagine it must be the same or worse in your line of work..” She paused, twisting her fingers together. “Agent DiNozzo was transferred to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. He had some pulmonary complications arise that made it necessary for him to be transferred into the care of the specialist familiar with his case.”

‘His case?’ Steve wondered silently, knowing he be getting any more info and knowing better than to keep pushing. “Thank you.” He said instead, tone sincere.

The woman replied with a quick wink before turning back the way she’d been heading and disappearing down the hall.

Steve turned away himself and headed back to where he’d left Danny upon spotting the familiar face. “What’s you, you find out anything?” The short detective questioned, turning away from the nurses station and stiding to join him by the door.

“Yeah, they shipped him back to DC.” Steve answered as they headed back downstairs towards the lobby.

“What?!” Danny exclaimed, voice incredulous.  “Why did they do that?”

“I dunno, Danno, but we’re gonna find out. C’mon.” They headed back to the car and resumed the trip to their previous destination, where they met up with the rest of their team.

When they arrived, they found a memo from Tony waiting for them. It was disappointingly short, and written out on an old fashion memo pad, which Steve hadn’t even known existed within the building. It had Tony’s name listed as the contact, Steve’s as the recipient, along with the time of his call and the simple message, ‘Doc says I have Aspiration Pneumonia. They’re sending me back home for surveillance, so I’ll be at Bethesda by morning. Tried to call, but don’t have my phone. Guess I’ll see you around, huh?”

Steve read it quickly once, and then slowly twice more. It wasn’t much more info, but it was some. He looked up when Danny pressed into his space to try and read the little piece of paper over his arm. The Commander handed it over without complain, feeling torn. The memo made it’s way around the room and Kono approached almost hesitantly. “Do you want me to see if I can find out anything else?”

He thought about it for a moment but then shook his head. “Nah, he won’t even have made it back to the mainland yet. There won’t be anything to find out until he gets admitted. Let’s just… Let’s get the case wrapped up and we’ll see.”

~*~

The case was officially closed by the next evening. Considering so many of their targets ended up dead on that yacht, it made things both easier and more complicated in filling out the stacks of paperwork. Nicholai and Ricci were both found amongst the bodies aboard and Wo Fat had once again disappeared into the woodwork. It was becoming a familiar pattern when one of the criminals overly-complicated plans were foiled- a pattern the team was quickly tiring of.

The remainder of the criminal populations seemed to be settling back into their baseline, minus the ones that remained in custody pending trial for their planned participation in the thwarted events. Steve had been thinking about things off and on since he found the empty hospital room. He could choose to take such a thing as a sign that maybe they shouldn’t pursue such an unpredictable long distance relationship, but Steve tried to ignore that particular voice.

Instead he found himself remembering all of the little moment’s they managed to have together already- making pasta together in the kitchen of the safehouse, watching ‘A Sound of Music’( which actually had a lot more depth to it than he was expecting when he agreed to join him that night), playing poker with the Ohana, sitting together out amongst the foliage by the river, even just the passing little flashes in which they exchanged a smile or shared a quick moment of conversation between them. 

And that wasn’t even mentioning how amazing the Agent been during the case. Even knowing now that it had all essentially been a setup to draw the man in didn’t change how flawlessly he’d preformed. Steve had a whole new respect for their UC’s and the job they unwaveringly did. Tony at least had a spine of titanium and the skill to back it up. Had the situation not been so dire, the surge of lust he’d felt upon realizing the Agent had essential rescued himself and secured his own backup likely would’ve been much stronger than the low simmer it’d been.

He hadn’t been this drawn to someone since Cath, and even then the majority of their relationship had been more akin to friends-with-benefits than any actual commitment. The romantic relationship part didn’t even start until years after they’d been seeing each other. He didn’t want that kind of back and forth, that kind of uncertainty, with Tony. That he found himself missing the man’s presence after so  short time it was insane, but realizing that didn’t do anything lesson his yearning. He found his possessive side emerging from the shadows the longer he had to think about things, wanting to keep the absent man all to himself.

He definitely didn’t like that Tony’d been transferred so quickly after they mutually agreed to pursue the thing that had been building between them since they met. He wasn’t an insecure man by any means, but he still felt a bit lost at leaving things so up in the air. It felt unfinished, like a movie that had been put on pause and was waiting for someone to hit ‘play’ just before the best part.  

Considering Tony was captive by his own poor health, Steve decided he would be the one to take the leap. He’d already gathered all of the missing Agent’s things together to return with himself. Balboa and Almeida had both departed the day prior to resume their own duties, receiving a send off and the sincere thanks of the Five-O team for their assistance. Balboa had offered to return the belongings himself, but Steve had declined, already knowing what he wanted to do even if he hadn’t yet spoken of  it to his team.  

Even so, they all seemed to suspect, because none showed surprise when he finally announced his plans to take a two-week vacation to DC. Rather, knowing looks were shared and he was pretty sure he saw a twenty dollar bill exchange hands from  the corner of his eye. He shook his head and turned his back on them completely, trying not to think about what the detail of the bet might entail.

Danny alone followed him when he departed Headquarters to head home and then onto the airport. They walked in silence down to the parking area, his blond partner with his hands tucked into his pockets and head bowed thoughtfully. He didn’t speak up until the large truck was in sight.

“You sure this is what you want to do Steve? You know that following him home is a lot bigger than what was going on while he was working here, right? This is a bit step. You sure it’s what you both want?” The Commander could have gotten annoyed with the question, but was touched instead at the worry his brother in all but blood showed for him.

Still, he thought back once again to all of the little moments they had shared together- the time at the waterfall jumping to the forefront of his mind, when Tony had admitted how hard it was to break out of the headspace he used when doing that kind of work. The statement had struck Steve in the chest, because it was something he felt intimately but had never tried to put into words himself.

It resonated within him. Though he’d already been growing plenty attracted by that conversation, it was the trigger that caused his attraction to step over the line into true interest. He’d tried to share in return, but he wasn’t as good at expressing his emotions as the Agent seemed to be and had felt off-kilter with the attempt. Still, awkwardness aside, he wondered what might have come of the moment if Danny hadn’t decided to ring him just then.

With that memory fresh in mind, he looked over to meet the bright blue of the detective’s eyes. “Yeah, Danno. I’m sure.”

Those eyes studied him, squinting against the glare of the sun, before he nodded. “Okay.” He accepted without further question. “Then keep in touch and let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks braddah, I will.” Steve replied sincerely before he turned away to step up into the cab of his truck, eagerness already lighting within him at what was to come.

~*~

The first days spent in DC were damn near torture. He’d thought about showing up at the hospital, but he wasn’t sure if the Agent’s team would be present and he would feel horrible if he forced him into an awkward position with his own appearance. Instead, he took up residence at a hotel situated somewhere in between the hospital and the location of Tony’s apartment and requested Kono notify him once he was discharged.

When the call came he had to stop himself from rushing over immediately, figuring he should give Tony’s friends time to depart should they’ve accompanied him home. He planned to wait a full hour, but found himself heading out after only thirty minutes. He’d already found the building during one of the runs he’d taken up since arriving in the city considering he couldn’t really go for a long swim, so he knew exactly where he was going when he set out.

The journey passed quickly and he was soon approaching the apartment number listed on the ID. He could hear the soft sound of a piano being played as he closed in on the correct door. He’d grown a bit tense on the way over, questioning himself and his decision to come without discussing it first and wondering if the man might reaction more poorly than he was anticipating. The soothing sound seemed to relax the lingering tension and he breathed easier as he set the couple of bags down on the floor, leaving the other man’s backpack slung across his right shoulder carelessly.  

He knocked softly and heard the notes trail to a stop. There was a long moment of silence and then the sound of a lock unlatching a few seconds later. Tony was suddenly standing before him, bare foot and mussed, wearing what looked like well loved sweats. “Steve!” The man exclaimed, seeming shocked to see him.

Steve smiled at him lightly. “Hey.” He replied simply, finding himself at a loss of words now that he was actually in the moment. Tony’s eyes glanced around and locked on the strap digging into his shoulder. He reached for it to take it from him, but Steve brushed the gesture off. The weight wasn’t even a blip on his radar and he didn’t want to spare the time it would take to set it down just then.

Instead, he caught the bottom of Tony’s hoodie with a curled finger and used it to draw him a step closer. Tony moved willingly nearer and then stilled, making eye contact from the new distance and smiled back at him in bemusement as the man’s strong hands moved to lightly grip his waist, questioning him on how he’d come to be there.

Steve answered easily enough, or at least easily until the question of why he hadn’t visited him in the hospital came up. Still, he spoke honestly and Tony seemed happy with his answer because he wrapped his arms around Steve’s neck and drew him into a kiss that definitely said showed that he wasn’t at all upset by his unexpected arrival.

 Steve’s hands dropped lower still, moving from his waist to grip the Agent’s hips and moving in closer still, until there was scantly an inch left between them. That they were of similar height was a bonus in the ease it allowed them to continue on without the discomfort of anyone having to stretch up or hunch down for an extended period of time.

Eventually the sound of a door closing from further down the hall caused them to regain awareness and pull apart. They moved back to gather the rest of the belongings and then move things into the privacy of Tony’s apartment. Steve glanced around appreciatively at the sleek but inviting space, done up in soft creams and edged in crown molding, and seeming to fit the other man’s personality perfectly.

Steve trailed along behind him as they moved through to the living room. Tony dropped the bag he held on the floor just inside his bedroom door, gesturing Steve to do the same. He didn’t care to take the time to unpack just then. Instead he turned and stepped back up to face Steve, who was more than willing to come together for another kiss.

Neither man was meek when it came to sexual acts- both were too old and too experienced to shy away from the more intimate pleasures available to them in life, and so knowing they no longer had to deny themselves was invigorating all on its own. In Steve’s experience, most of his sorties had taken place with a couple of his more discreet and likeminded fellow soldiers, usually just before or just after a death defying experience or challenging assignment that left emotions high and in need of physical release.  

He and Freddie had such a relationship, or at least they had until his dear friend met the love of his life and lost interest in sharing that type of stress relief with anyone else. It wasn’t about romance or relationships with him back then. Rather his couplings were usually quick and could be almost brutal at times, depending on the circumstance surrounding the exchange as he and his partner strove towards the full body release and the rush of endorphins that an orgasm could bring. Steve had been happy for Freddie finding his own happiness and hadn’t begrudged him in the slightest, settling instead back into the close platonic friendship they’d had before things had gotten physical.

Cath had begun as a similar arrangement, and it had taken a long time -years-  for it to morph into something more than that. Knowing that he already wanted more with Tony was odd for him, but it didn’t take away the pull of lust that had been present from the beginning and had grown exponentially since then, rather seeming to emphasize  his desire even farther. 

Tony obviously wasn’t objecting and seemed more than interested in the proceedings himself, so Steve gently pressed him back against the bare wall right inside his bedroom door. He kept his touches light and gentle, not wanting to press on any potential sore spots that might have been hidden from his sight. Tony allowed the motion happily, bring us arms up once again to wrap around his neck and pulling him closer still, until they were pressed together from chest to knee. Their mutually stirring hardness’s greeted each other for the first time through multiple layers of fabric.  

The kiss grew more heated with that increased contact, and Steve reflexively pressed him more firmly against the wall. Tony groaned quietly in his throat at the sensation of old bruises being agitated, but the dull pain of it took on a new turn when combined with the growing pleasure that was humming through him. The cuts across his back had been superficial enough to have healed over for the most part, and so he wasn’t too concerned about worsening the damage.

Steve dropped his right arm so that he could dip under the soft fabric of his hoodie and he ran a gun calloused hand across the soft flesh of the man’s side. His finger brushed against a bandage taped to him only a second later and he decided that he should really be able to see what he was doing. That in mind, he dropped his left hand as well so that he could sweep the warm fabric up and over the mans head with one smooth motion, leaving him bare from the waist up.

Tony’s hands came up to return the gesture and he began to unbutton the simple fitted half-sleeve black shirt the man wore atop dark-wash jeans and familiar combat boots. It was a simple combination but made him look mouthwatering all the same. It didn’t take Tony long to strip the shirt and they soon stood in a similar state of undress.

View finally unobstructed, Steve pulled back to take in the lingering damage. There was still a mess of greyish-purple and greenish-yellow splotches mixing together across his flesh from the deeper bruises that weren’t quiet healed yet. The bandage he’d felt earlier was covering the location of the bullet wound, but all of the other hurts seemed to be fading away nicely. Tony allowed him to look for a long moment, but eventually demanded his attention back where he wanted it while at the same time stepping forward and directing him back towards his bed.

He was thankful he’d gotten a slightly bigger model than the one he’d had before when he replaced the thing after his father had the audacity to bring one of his neighbor’s into his sanctum for a one-off while Tony had been out. The increase in size made it easier to push the SEAL’s sturdy frame down without worrying about him falling over the other side of the mattress. 

Steve sat back willingly, scooching himself up until he was more centered and then reached out eagerly to grip the hips that fit so perfectly into his large hands as the Agent crawled into his lap and straddled his waist, ducking down to resume their kiss. Steve’s hands began moving, running first up and down his bare sides and then eventually dropping lower and lower still, broadening circles sweeping over his clothed thighs and eventually coming to grasp the sensitive flesh just under his ass, squeezing and kneading teasingly and causing Tony’s nerves to blaze to life.

The motion caused Tony’s hips to rock slightly and press down against the mans stomach. He moaned lowly through his nose, sliding down slightly so that he was more firmly seated across the confined manhood straining beneath his weight so that they were both benefiting from the pressure. He rocked experimentally, shifting himself this way and that until he was able to pull a sound of pleasure from the man lying beneath him. Tony got the feeling his new bed partner was the type to try and keep his stoicism even in this, and he silently vowed to force as many noises from him as he possible could.

The most sure fire way he knew to do that involved a very particular skill of his. He pulled his kiss swollen lips away from the ones below and drug them across the evening stubble of Steve’s sharp jaw, nibbling lightly as he made his way to his throat and then down his collar bone. He took his sweet time, exploring every inch of tantalizing flesh presented so willingly to him. He paused to study the spread of tattoos up close as he came to each of them, running his fingers reverently over the vibrant colors partially hidden under the deep golden tan.   

Steve was content to let the man explore, crossing his arms behind his head once Tony dropped too low for him to hold onto easily and allowing him all the time he wanted. Tony bit lightly on the flesh stretched taunt over the V of abs just before above the line of his jeans while his hands came up to toy with the latch keeping his manhood confined uncomfortably beneath the rough fabric. 

He pulled back slightly and peered up the muscular torso to meet the hazel eyes watching him ravenousness from his seemingly casual pose. He had the presence a predatory cat lazily swaying its tail just before it pounced, and Tony felt himself shiver with a new surge of lust. His voice, when he spoke, was quiet and rough with his desire to taste the man. “Nothing I should know about before I go further?” he questioned lowly, meaning obvious without having to specify.

Steve shook his head just the slightest bit, gaze never wavering. “I’m clean.” He vowed aloud, his own voice like pure gravel and  it made Tony’s sound like satin by comparison. The assurance was enough for Tony, and the button of the Commander’s jeans was flicked open in the next second. The zipper followed and then Steve helpfully canted his hips upward to allow the thick fabric to be pulled free. Tony removed his black boxer-briefs with the same motion. He had to pause for a long second to untie and pull off the heavy boots before he could remove the clothes completly, but the motions were familiar enough that it didn’t cause too long of a delay.

Steve lay bare beneath him soon after and Tony fastened his teeth back on the line of that enticing V, biting and sucking until a small mark began to form. Steve hissed quietly, one hand dropping down to fist lightly in his hair with a hint of warning. Tony didn’t stop but rather sucked harder, running the palms of his hands across the muscular flesh lay out beneath him partially in distraction and partially for the sheer pleasure of it. 

A hard cock stood at full mass just inches from his face but he ignored it completely as he continued his lazy exploration.  He dropped his hand down to rub against his own painful hardness a moment later, hoping to gain a bit of relief. Growing impatient himself, he ceased his teasing and turned his attention to his end goal in truth. The touch of his mouth was light at first- scarcely more than a hint of sensation against the sensitive silk covered steel.

Tony dipped his head down lower, sucking lightly on the skin right at the base of the impressive cock and mentally thanking his bedpartner for the pre-emptive manscaping that made the whole experience much more enjoyable for him to perform. Steve made that pleasurable little noise again and squirmed against the sensation, grip tightening for a moment before relaxing to stroke though the mussed strands in an unspoken apology for the roughness.

In reward, Tony lifted his head back up to swallow his length fully and without warning. Steve cursed at the suddenness of the motion, shoulders curling up reflexively off the bed before he regained control of himself and forcefully relaxed back. Tony didn’t stay down for very long before pulling back and using his tongue, lips, and slight twist of his head to swirl around his cock like it was the most delicious sucker he’d ever had the pleasure to put in his mouth.

From there, he utilized every skill he’d gained over his adulthood to drive the SEAL completely out of his head, moving restlessly until the other man couldn’t help but curse again against the onslaught of unrelenting sensation. His abdominals were flexing helplessly with the aborted little thrusts of his hips, but Tony was holding him down too firmly for him to get any real leverage and he could do little more than lay there and accept the pleasure as Tony chose to give it to him.

Knowing the man was getting close as he felt his girth expand against his palate, Tony forced himself to slide further down until the entire impressive length was encased in his hot and wet mouth, and then he forced himself to swallow around the sizeable obstruction nudging down into his throat. Steve cursed even louder and curled up again, this time remaining lifted up off the bed as his hands ran reverently along the side of his face, stroking the skin of his lips stretched taunt around his girth and then running along the front of his throat. He thought he might be able to feel the bulge of his length nudging down Tony’s esophagus, but that might have just been lusty wishful thinking. 

Tony swallowed again and Steve was able to see the flutter of his flesh move with the sensation from his new vantage point. The view of the stifled motion was more than he could take and his shaky control was torn from him as his pleasure swept blindingly over him. He dropped bonelessly back down onto the bed as the aftershocks washed over him, Tony’s throat still working to milk him for every drop he was worth. Only when he began to soften did the Agent pull away, satisfaction clear on his face as he brought a single finger up to wipe at the corner of his sore mouth.

Steve’s eyes were locked on the sight as Tony brought the digit to his mouth to lick the small bead of white from the pad. He surged up suddenly, grabbing a hold of the Agent and flipping him over in a move Tony was helpless to stop. His sweats were pulled from his body without question or pause and then Steve was enthusiastically returning the favor.  

The SEAL seemed less practiced at the deed than Tony himself, but what he lacked in finesse he more than made up for in sheer enthusiasm and tenacity. Tony had a personal love of giving head and was already close to the edge himself from performing the gesture on his new bedmate, so it wasn’t long before he was moaning wantonly and writhing atop his sheets, less concerned with muffling himself than the other had been.

It was only a couple of minutes before Tony followed him to completion with a hitched breath and a broken groan. Steve didn’t swallow like Tony had, but rather caught the majority of his release in a cupped hand as he stoked him through his own aftershocks. Only once Tony had stilled did the other press a light kiss against his stomach and then push himself up.

He moved to the bathroom he’d noticed upon his arrival and washed the mess down the sink. He cleaned himself for good measure, despite Tony having left him pretty well free of any lingering slick, and then moved back to the bedroom with a warm fresh cloth for the other. Tony accepted the offering with a small smile and saw to himself while Steve moved around the bed to rejoin him.

The SEAL lay himself on his back, left arm folded up under his head while his right rested lightly against his stomach. From his left side, Tony twisted himself onto his side, one hand propping up his head as he studied the other. The position tugged uncomfortably on his sutures, so he lifted his knee to curl over the Commander’s own for added support. The shift took the strain away and he dropped his free hand to rest on Steve’s chest, dragging his fingers lightly over the bare flesh thoughtfully. “There’s a lot we should probably talk about.” He said after a long but comfortable silence.

Steve lifted the hand off of his stomach to catch and tangle with Tony’s own fingers. “We can talk tomorrow.” He said, growing sleepy in his contentedness after so long going nonstop. “C’m ‘ere.” He tugged lightly until Tony shifted closer still, dropping down to lay his head on Steve’s shoulder without complaint, feeling wiped himself. The man dropped his left arm from its position under his head to curl firmly around Tony’s waist and hold him near as they drifted off together. 

~*~

Tbc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter meets all of your expectations! If there's anything you've been hoping to see that hasn't been addressed yet, please let me know! Two chapters to go! Thank you all so much for reading and especially to those of you who have left feedback. Until next time!


	19. Chapter 19

WARNING: Please note the beginning flashback is set during Tony’s captivity and is a bit gory, so no one is surprised at a break in the fluffy ending of this story ;)

 

 

 

_~*~ Distortion ~*~ Dream ~*~ Flashback ~*~_

The pain was horrific, every square inch of his back covered by one large pulsating mass of agonizingly unending _burning_. Tony was breathing harshly through his nose, head lulling forward as black spots began expanding across the edges of his vision. His jaw clenched and he swallowed against the building nausea that was trying to crawl up his throat. His eyes drifted closed without his notice and he started to float into blissful oblivion.

He was jarred harshly back to reality when a hand tangled tightly in his hair and wrenched his head back painfully, while the blood covered switch they’d been laying across his back in even stripes came down once again over the raw, inflamed and salted flesh. A quiet moan of distress escaped despite his best effort as his neck was twisted to an uncomfortable limit, making it difficult to breath. The switch came down again and he realized he hadn’t yet opened his eyes. Doing so was almost more effort than he could bare, but he knew he wasn’t being given a choice- not if he wanted to spare himself further pain or be beaten in true unconsciousness. He wasn’t sure which he’d prefer.

His eyes cracked opened narrowly to see Nicholai crouching down beside his chair, pressing in close while his own hand held Tony’s head where he wanted it. Last time Tony had seen him, he’d been standing across the room and enjoying the show of Ricci working his particular brand of magic, so it was a bit startling to see him leaning so close. Nicholai pressed his cheek against Tony’s and whispered lowly in his ear, “Now, now, Antonio. It’s not time to sleep yet. You haven’t earned a break.” He paused as the switch was brought down again, a neat half-inch below the sting of the last strike.

He continued a heartbeat later. “You have no idea how hard it was not to take you down the second you showed you face- the second I realized it was **you** who betrayed us. I almost gave myself away right then, and then again when you had the nerve to show up at **my bar,** to take **my seat** like you had some sort of right to a place at **my table**. My finger was _itching_ on the trigger. You have really have no idea how close you were to dying _then_ _and there_ , careful planning and fallout be damned.”

Nicholai paused so the next blow could be delivered in an easy exchange. “You strutted in like it was nothing, like what you did didn’t even matter. You say **we’re** the monsters here? You should really take a look in the mirror, ‘Tonio, take a look at _yourself_. Are you even capable of feeling? You were part of La Famiglia, you were one of us. We would have bled for you, _died for you_ , and you stabbed us all in the back like we were **nothing** to you.”

Three strikes fell in rapid succession and Tony leaned further against the chair he straddled, pressing his chest heavily against the backrest but there was no escaping the skilled hands of the man looming behind him. Nicholai finally released the painful hold on his head with a harsh shove of disgust. “And then you think you can just swagger in here and do it all over again? It’s true, we may be monsters ourselves, but we are **nothing** compared to **you** , ‘ _Tonio_.” The man strode away and took up his former position with his arms tightly crossed. The blows began again and didn’t falter until the black dots returned to his peripheral vision and eventually took over.  

~*~ End Dream / Flashback~*~

A hand lightly pressed against his back and Tony awoke with a deep gasp of air, twisting up and out of the bed without though, spinning around and reaching for the weapon that wasn’t there as his sleep muddled mind struggled to separate the lingering memory from his present location. He fought to settle his breaths as he realized he was in his own bedroom, Steve stretched out hesitantly on the bed, one hand resting where Tony had before his unexpected departure. 

It was clear what had happened without the need for a verbal explanation. Not having to explain his reaction to an unsuspecting date was a bonus, Tony thought sardonically as he raised shaky hands up to rub his face and then run harshly through his hair. “Sorry.” He murmured, voice rough.

Steve rose silently and moved to stand before him. He waited patiently until Tony had dropped his hands and then stepped closer once those hazel eyes were on him. He held himself back from touching, remembering how even the lightest touch could make your skin crawl after such a wakening and not wanting to cause Tony to experience something similar. “Nothing to be sorry for.” He rebutted quietly himself before breaking away. He hadn’t brought any of his own belongings up with him and so moved to pull his own jeans up over his hips before he headed out into the main area of the apartment to give the other man a much needed moment to compose himself.

He wasn’t surprised when he heard the bathroom door close and the shower start up a minute later, and he moved across the room to grab glass of water while he waited. He remembered Tony mentioning that he liked to run when he had the chance, and thought he might like to do so that morning to shake off the lingering adrenaline he might have from his restless nights sleep.

Plan in mind, he used the time to run down to the rental car parked nearby and grab the duffle he’d brought with him _just in case_. He was back upstairs and dressed in a loose pair of shorts and a tee, reclining against the sink and sipping the remaining water in the glass when Tony finally emerged with a towel wrapped around his waist.

He glanced across the open space and saw Steve waiting. A small smile tugged at one corner of his mouth but he didn’t say anything before he disappeared back into his bedroom, closing the door half-way behind himself in a silent request for continued privacy. He reappeared soon after, wearing a new pair of sweats and a tee shirt of his own. He mimicked the SEAL in grabbing a small drink before they moved together to the door and down the silent stairwell, words continuing to be unnecessary between them.

A perk of living in his particular part of the city was that the streets and sidewalks were always well lit despite the inky darkness of the early hour by bright and evenly spaced streetlights. They broke into a run a few strides from the main door, Steve clearly slowing his own pace to match Tony’s. The Agent might have been annoyed by such an obvious move any other time, but considering he’d just gotten out of the hospital for pneumonia, he could hardly blame the man for his caution and could even feel the appreciation of not having to push too hard too fast.

Still, the early morning air prickled at Tony’s bare arms, and he found himself pushing harder simply so he’d feel warmer. Steve matched the increased pace step for step, and the two made their way past the first city block and onto the next. There was little traffic to be seen, four o’clock being too early even for the most diehard of DC, and so the air remained still and undisturbed for the most part.

Tony steered them towards a small park nearby that had a few decent running paths and then led them to the longer (but more even) track that looped around the exterior of the greenery. His breathing was harder than normal when they finally reached it, chest just beginning to ache. He didn’t want to take a break, a small part of himself not wanting to look weak in front of such a fit specimen of a man, but he’d learned his own limitations the hard way early on and knew better than to push himself too hard- especially so soon after a hospitalization, and one following such a lengthy delay in his fitness routine.

He slowed his strides to a brisk walk, reaching up to rub at the worst of the ache fruitlessly as he carefully measured his breaths to make them as efficient as possible in terms of oxygen absorption. Steve slowed easily beside him, taking the opportunity to stretch his long arms across his chest and never complaining about the slowness or trying to push him to move faster.

Tony glanced up at the few small specks of light that lingered and managed to make their way through the city’s own overwhelming brightness. The stars back on the island had been so much more vivid and vibrant, he remembered suddenly with a strange pang of longing. He’d really enjoyed his time in Hawaii, and he was disappointed that it had come to such an abrupt end- despite already knowing it couldn’t last beyond the immediate end of the case due to his own waiting duties.

He always enjoyed the chance to visit warmer, sunnier places. It was the only perk he found to being afloat- the wide array of ports they visited as they traveled the ocean. He watched his breath form a thin white cloud and shivered under the sweat dotting his exposed flesh. His breathing slowly returned to normal and he found himself licking his lips before speaking for the first time since those few words that had been exchanged upon his unpleasant waking.

“This isn’t quite what I planned for our first morning after.” He said, voice quiet to match the stillness still surrounding them.

Steve glanced over at him and lent over to nudge his shoulder softly with his own. “Plenty more ‘morning after’s to be had.” Steve replied, sounding slightly amused.  

Tony smiled back and shook his head slightly once. “Plenty more maybe, but not another first.”

Steve shrugged a muscular shoulder. “Dunno why we’d need another first. Nothing wrong with this one, so far as I’m concerned.” Tony couldn’t help the scoff of a laugh that emerged. Steve might well understand better than most, but having the man you just spent the last night sharing a bed with leaping away from your touch and then fleeing to the bathroom couldn’t be considered a positive experience in anyone’s books. He wasn’t expecting his hand to be caught or to be spun around and pulled into strong arms. Steve bit lightly at his neck just under his ear. “’Sides, mornings’ far from over. Still plenty of time for it to get better.” He murmured, voice taking on that rough note that Tony found so arousing.

 Tony shivered again, though for an entirely different reason than he had before. He watched Steve pull back from his spot nuzzling at Tony’s neck and then pressed forward to claim the man’s lips hungrily. Maybe there was something wrong with him, maybe he was a monster, but being with Steve felt pretty damn good and he knew he didn’t want to give him up. Part of himself warned himself that getting attached was a bad idea- that it only ever ended badly for him, but he tried to ignore the familiar voice. Steve had come of hell of a long way to see him, to prove to the other that he was serious about exploring the thing growing between them. The least Tony could do was give it his best shot. If still might not work out, but, well, he didn’t thing he’d be able to bare asking himself ‘what if,’ for the next decade if he didn’t at least try.

Their kiss grew rapidly heated as both men used the physical exchange to express what they didn’t say aloud. Steve caught Tony’s bottom lip lightly with his teeth before he pulled back, breaking contact to avoid temptation until they were in a more acceptable environment for such activity. Tony smiled at him, dimple visible and eyes warmer than they’d been all morning. They started walking again, hands brushing occasionally against each other from the closeness they maintained. Tony eventually glanced over and then broke back into a light jog, having recovered enough to continue on, with Steve falling back into step almost immediately.  

They ran side by side the rest of the way around the path and then continued on until they were two blocks from Tony’s apartment. There they slowed once again so that they could start to cool down before heading back indoors. They moved in sync as they ascended the stairs and then moved back into the warm apartment. They passed through to the kitchen to rehydrate and then Steve trailed behind Tony as the agent moved back into the bathroom that was still slightly steamy from his earlier shower.

Clothes fell to the floor without care and they came together pressed against the sink as the room began to fill with fresh steam. They maneuvered themselves into the shower a minute or so later but were more focused on each other than they were washing- or, at least for the first twenty or so minutes . Tony wasn’t yet aware of it, but Steve had something of a _thing_ about taking quick showers- Navy showers, he’d defended the habit to Danny more than once.

He most definitely _did not_ keep to his normal three minute routine that morning- he didn’t even come close. In fact, it was near an hour later before the two were dressed once again, weak morning light trickling in through the windows and announcing the arrival of true dawn. They headed back to the kitchen, were Tony pulled his beloved French press from its hiding spot and set to making them both a cup of rich hot coffee.

Once done, they stood together at the window and watched the colors of the sunrise creep across the city below in vivid rays of pink and orange. “So what’s your plan for the day?” Steve asked causally, leaning against the wall with one shoulder while his legs were crossed casually at the ankle.

“I need to report in to NCIS this morning. Get my orders, figure out how long before they ship me back out.” He didn’t mean to let to let the bitterness escape with the words, but he heard it in his own voice and he knew the Commander would have too.

“You really hate ship life, huh?” Steve questioned, peering at him sideways with a brow raised slightly in confusion. While Steve didn’t spend a ton of time deployed aboard Aircraft Carriers, he’d spent enough to know it wasn’t all that bad, especially for the Agent Afloat who had much more freedom that those who were actually enlisted.

Tony’s lip curled and he bit it to stop the expression from spreading further. “I don’t _hate it_.” He disputed feebly, wondering if he should share the thoughts that had been tumbling around in his head since he’d first received the orders. It seemed a bit pitiful to consider voicing aloud, but part of him wanted to share what he’d kept buried for more than three long months. “I just, I didn’t become a cop to police our nations soldiers, you know? I became a cop, I became an _Agent,_ to make a difference where it really matters, to help people… not to get a soldier court martialed for doing something in his own free time that I enjoy doing myself during the weekend. That’s just- it’s not, it’s not me, it’s not why I’m a cop and it’s not what I want to spend a year of my life doing.” He finished, feeling flushed for his rambling and hoping his face wasn’t pink from the heat he could feel.

Steve didn’t say anything to cause further embarrassment but rather adopted a sympathetic expression.  “Sukhbaatar.” He said simply.

Tony turned to look at him in confusion, wondering at the gibberish his ears were unable to make sense of. “Suk-Baa, _What_?” He stepped closer, mirroring the man’s position but facing him, steaming mug held before his face and warming his fingers.

Steve laughed, eyes crinkling in his mirth before he repeated the name. “Sukhbaatar. City in Northern Mongolia? I was stationed there for six months, once. Worst six months of my life.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony questioned lightly, wondering just what would constitute as a ‘worst experience’ to a man like Steve.

“Mmm,” The SEAL hummed in agreement. “I was lucky- got there in July to a balmy 65 degrees. When I left the beginning of January? It was negative five. I had never regretted my decision to join the SEALs until _that_ deployment.”

It was Tony’s turn to laugh, though it held a sympathetic edge. “That sounds unpleasant.” He agreed, taking the last drink of his coffee and then twisting to set his mug on an open shelf of one of the built-ins nearby. “Especially for an Island boy like you.” He finished teasingly.

“An Island boy like me?” Steve repeated incredulously before laughing again. “What, just because I don’t like the cold?” 

“Amongst other reasons.”

“Other reasons, huh?”

Tony raised a brow teasingly, feeling lighter than he had in a long time despite the rough start to the morning. It was unbelievable how much better the man could make him feel, just with his own presence and understanding. Instead of answering, he leaned forward for another one of those addictive kisses. Steve acquiesced without complaint and the exchanged staying light and chaste thanks to the recent exchange of pleasure that occurred in the shower just briefly prior.

“It’s still early,” Steve commented when they pulled back. “What do you say we go get some breakfast before you head in?”

“Mmm, breakfast sounds good. Haven’t done any kind of shopping yet, but there’s a café down the block if you want to sit and eat, or there’s a farmers market a bit further.”

“Farmers market? Do you mind?” Steve questioned, always health-conscious and much preferring to prepare his own food than to get it already made when given the option.

 “Not at all, they always have a good selection this time of year.”

And so the two dressed to go back out and meandered their way the couple of blocks down to the market to choose their selection of groceries for breakfast. They briefly discussed getting extra to start stocking Tony’s kitchen, but the man protested for not wanting to waste food should he be on his way back to a ship before the days end.

They returned to Tony’s apartment sometime later and Steve went to work whipping them both up a hearty omelet stuffed with chunks of tomato, pepper, and avocado while Tony made them both a fresh mug of coffee to accompany the spread. They ate sat casually side by side on the barstools normally tucked under the edge of the counter, making easy conversation between deliciously fluffy bites.

They lingered after breakfast was finished, but Tony eventually pushed himself back and stood to wash the dishes. He’d considered ignoring them for the moment, but he detested leaving a messy kitchen and knew he’d be annoyed with himself for them being in the sink later. Steve moved to rinse and dry while Tony washed and they were finished in a matter of minutes- kitchen once again returned to it’s natural state of almost sterile cleanliness.

By that time it was nearing nine in the morning and Tony figured he should head in so he could figure out what was happening with himself before making any plans for Steves remaining vacation days. Considering he wasn’t on the clock and that he still felt a bit chilled, Tony swapped out his fitted t-shirt and hoodie for an equally fitted black turtle neck that showed off his long torso and kept the dark wash Armani jeans he was already wearing. His beloved leather jacket went over the top of that and then he was ready to head off.

Steve stayed behind, having no justifiable reason to accompany him and no real need to go anywhere else. He’d come to DC to see Tony, after all, so he might as well remain in the place he’d seen him again the soonest. Tony didn’t seem to mind and so they split up, Tony heading to his car and then beginning the familiar but somehow strange feeling journey to the Navy yard.

Traffic was moderately heavy at the early hour, but Tony didn’t take any of the short cuts he knew would get him there faster. Now that he was alone, he felt a sense of dread at reporting in and a stronger twist of revulsion with the situation as a whole as the thought floated to the forefront of his mind that it might be time to move on. It wasn’t the first time he’d thought about it and he’d long ago promised himself he wouldn’t stay in a position that made him feel dismayed at going into work.

NCIS had lasted longer than most, but ‘all good things must come to an end,’ right? The silent conversation he was having with himself continued until he approached the security gate on the edge of the property. He was greeted warmly and drew a smile of his own to the surface in appreciation, asking the man after his wife, who’d been pregnant the last time he’d been in the area. The exchanged small talk until another car pulled up behind him and he was waved through out of necessity.

The exchange had helped to pick up his darkening mood and he held the smile as he parked and then made his way into the building. He was stopped several times for a near repeat of the pervious conversations, but he gave each one his full attention as he renewed bonds with the people he hadn’t seen in months.

It was bizarre to enter the edge of the bull pen and see three unfamiliar faces seated at the MCRT desks that had previously belonged his himself and their team. Gibbs was absent and he wasn’t sure if he was pleased with that or not. Regardless, he ignored the magnitude of stares he gained as he made his way to the stairs that would take him to the directors office. He returned a couple of nods and then was out of sight.

Cynthia smiled warmly at him, welcoming him back and asking after his health before sending him on through. Cynthia had outlasted Directors and Tony had formed a amiable enough relationship with the spunky woman throughout the years. He stood leaning casually against her desk chatting easily for several minutes, only turning away at the sound of purposeful footfalls moving towards their location.

Tony pushed off the desk completely at seeing SecNav himself moving towards the pair of them. “Sir!” He exclaimed, surprised.

“Agent DiNozzo, Cynthia. Good morning.” He greeted, not pausing in his stride as he made his way to the Directors door. He wrapped sharply upon the surface twice and then let himself in. Vance stood immediately at his appearance, Tony following only slightly hesitantly behind at the look he garnered. “Leon.”

“Phil, good to see you.” The Director greeted the Secretary of the Navy casually, standing to shake his hand. “Agent DiNozzo. Thank you, Cynthia.” The woman nodded and shut the door behind the three, leaving them to their business. “Have a seat, DiNozzo.”

Tony could feel the eyes scanning his face, taking in the nearly faded bruise and more obviously still healing gash decorating his jawline. Paired with the circles still lingering under his eyes from a poor weeks’ sleep in the hospital and the light stubble coating his cheeks from his neglecting to shave before leaving, Tony knew he looked a little rough around the edges. Luckily his appearance went unmentioned, if not unnoticed.

SecNav was the one to speak up from his position reclining casually in the chair beside Tony’s own. “Allow me to be the first to commend you on your excellent work in Hawaii, Agent DiNozzo.” Davenport announced, drawing Tony’s full attention. “I’ve heard nothing but good things from the Five-O task force. Commander McGarrett himself named you an invaluable asset to NCIS and the United States Navy as a whole, and requested I notify him should you ever decide to seek employment elsewhere.”

Tony felt a blush threatening at the blatant praise, but was grateful that the lingering tan would help disguise the rush of heat. “I- uh, thank you sir.” He managed, wondering where this whole odd meeting was going. He cut off anything else he might have said. What could he say? ‘I’m happy to help?’ Happy to help take down an organization that was only doing what they were to draw him personally out? No, that just felt _inky_ , as Abby would say. Better to remain quiet and wait to see what was coming net.

What followed were some of the most bizarre minutes of his life. He sat beside SecNav while he and the Director chatted away casually, feeling so out of place that he was too stiff to reach up and scratch the itch on the tip of his nose. After what seemed like the friendly version of obligatory small talk, the Secretary of the Navy pushed himself up and stood to leave.

Vance stood out of respect, and Tony followed a second later. “We’ll talk later.” Vance stated nodding at Tony.

“Sir?” He asked confused.

“With me, DiNozzo.” Davenport spoke up instead of the Director.

“Ah, yes, Sir.”

Tony followed two steps behind the older man as they make their way back down through the building, ignoring the curious looks he could feel against his back like lasers. He wondered idly just what rumors might be moving through the bullpen at the moment- wondered what they knew of his recent self-appointed assignment or if they were wondering themselves why he wasn’t aboard the Seahawk as he should be.

He hadn’t seen Stan or his team on his way up, and they weren’t in the room when he returned so he figured they must be out on assignment. SecNav’s personally security unit was waiting with the large black SUV (him being secure enough in the Navy Yard that he always ordered them to stay behind), and so a fairly large Marine was waiting to open the back door for them as they approached.

Davenport nodded his thanks, Tony following suit as he was gestured to get in first. He stepped up and scooted across the glossy leather surface, settling into a comfortable seat and then watching as SecNav joined him. The Marine joined the equally militant looking man in the drivers seat and they set off smoothly.

SecNav turned slightly in his seat to face him and Tony returned his look curiously. “Can I ask where we’re going, sir?” Tony asked when the other man didn’t speak up immediately.

“Congressional Country Club. It’s not far.” The man answered easily, still observing him.

Tony knew the man could be intense, he’d have to be- to gain the position he currently held, but he’d never felt so under a microscope as he did in that moment. Even when working or undercover- the people he was fooling rarely knew him truly and so it would be impossible for his true self to be put under scrutiny or judgement.

SecNav, on the other hand, had the means and ability to know everything about him, every nuance of his character and every mistake he’d ever made. To cover his discomfort, he plastered on his normal face and questioned, “We’re going to a Country Club, sir?”

“We are. Tell me, have you ever been to the Congressional Gold Course?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Know much about it?”

“Uh, no Sir, I can’t say I do.”

“It was built back in 1921 by Congressmen Bland and Luhring. The course is one of the best in the world. Tiger woods won a US open there, once.” Davenport informed him casually.

“That’s um, very impressive, sir.”

Davenport shot him an amused look, one brow raising slightly as he commented, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you ‘sir’ so many times in one sitting. Here I kind of thought Gibbs trained that habit out of you.”

Tony laughed, feeling himself relax the slightest bit. “He’s tried his best.”

“Do you play much golf?” SecNav questioned next, glancing out the darkly tinted window beside him to see where they were at.

“I’ve played a few rounds, but I can’t say it’s my favorite.” Tony admitted with a small shrug. When he’d taken the Japanese group out to show them a good time, they’d played a round before heading to dinner and indulging in sake bombs. He’d done the same at a few other various times throughout his career, and had accompanied his father as a child acting in the capacity of a free caddy. Perhaps that’s what spoiled the activity for him from the beginning..

“To be honest with you, I didn’t care for it much in the beginning either. You might want to consider spending some time at the range, boosting your skill. Golf is… Something of a rite of passage and a causal business meeting all in one go once you start getting higher up in the ranks.”

Tony looked at him, hoping his befuddlement was sufficiently hidden at the odd advice. “I uh, appreciate that sir, but I don’t know when I’m going to be back on dry land, let alone have time to visit a driving range.”

“You’re on dry land right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes sir, but I doubt I’ll have long before Director Vance ships me back out, and then I still have at least eight months left.”

“Director Vance wasn’t responsible for your assignment as Agent Afloat. I was.” The SUV came to a stop the same time Davenport finished his sentence, and the man was exiting the vehicle before Tony could get his tongue to work enough to question that statement. Why would SecNav care where he was assigned- especially care enough to set his assignment personally. He was a Senior Field Agent- hardly worth the personal attention of the Secretary of the Navy.

Tony followed him out, controlling himself so that he wasn’t scrambling after the man despite his burning need for answers after that statement. He didn’t have the opportunity to ask those questions until they were teeing up a few minutes later. He held his silence -barely- while SecNav lined up his first swing.

“What do you mean by ‘you’re responsible for my assignment as Agent Afloat,’ sir? I would think staffing decisions a bit below your paygrade.”

Davenport didn’t respond immediately, gesturing towards the Tee instead and waiting until Tony had taken his own swing. They didn’t have a cart and they were carrying their bags (Tony’s borrowed) themselves, SecNav’s security detail following closely behind.  

“You’ve been at NCIS for six years now, Senior Field Agent for four.  You were offered a promotion to Rota two years ago, but you’ve never applied for one yourself. Why is that?” The man finally asked when they were half way to Tony’s ball.

“Sir?” Tony questioned in blank surprise at the question.

“It’s a pretty simply question, DiNozzo. You’ve never wanted to advance? You could, you know.”

“I, uh, I like where I’m at, sir.”

“You like being Gibbs’ lacky? His ‘loyal St. Bernard?’” He glanced over at Tony’s twisted expression and laughed. “Yeah, you’d be surprised at the amount of scuttlebutt I hear. I find it hard to believe that someone as talented as you doesn’t want to go any farther than _this_. That applying for a promotion hasn’t even crossed your mind.”

“It’s crossed my mind.” Tony admitted after a couple beats silence. “Rota was tempting when Director Shepard offered it.”

“But?”

“But, it just wasn’t good timing.”

“And if I were to make you a similar offer now?”

Tony’s steps faltered and he glanced over at Davenport again, meeting his ever calculating eyes. His ball was only a few steps further, so he resumed his trajectory and maintained his silence as he lined up his second swing. “If you were to make a similar offer,” He started slowly as they resumed their walk. “I would give it the full consideration it deserved.” He allowed, not willing to promise anything more than that.

“That’s fair.” Tony waited, but the man didn’t continue. There were so many things he wanted to say himself but he forced the words down with hard won patience.

It wasn’t until after they reached Davenports ball and the man had taken his second swing that he spoke again. “Jon Hamer has officially informed me of his intent to retire next year.” Jonathan Hamer, Tony knew from his studies of the various port stops, was the Agent-in-Charge of the Pearl Harbor branch.

“Oh?”

“Mmm, next May. I’m sure you’re aware of the requirement that an NCIS agent serve a minimum of one year afloat before becoming eligible for a command position.” It wasn’t a question and was in fact something he was aware of. He’d wondered how Shepard had planned to get past that one when she’d offered him Rota, but he never openly considered it enough to ask those questions. “Tell me, do you know why your entire team was reassigned?”

“I couldn’t fathom to guess, sir.”  

The man eyed him sideways but didn’t call him on it as they once again reached Tony’s ball. He stood by patiently while the younger took his swing and then they resumed their leisurely walk down the green. “Yes, well, let’s just say it was necessary. The timing was good, so I took the opportunity to assign you to a ship. Interest in Oahu or not, it’ll be a hurtle out of your way in the future.”

“I suppose I should say ‘thank you.’” His voice bordered on sardonic and he mentally reminded himself of whom he was speaking.

“You can keep the fake sentiment. No one likes being assigned afloat. You chose NCIS, so you do your duty, however unpleasant, and then you move on with your life. Be grateful you’re not married with kids.”

No, he definitely wasn’t married, but the statement reminded him of his house guest waiting for him across town. Suddenly the possibility of a future between them didn’t seem so crazy. A potential romance wasn’t nearly enough to base this decision around, he knew, but the thought was tempting all the same. Beyond Steve, moving to Hawaii had been a secret dream of his since he’d fallen in love with Magnum PI.

Davenport continued, “I need someone experienced, someone with backbone. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Five-O has been running roughshod over Hawaii. As much as I respect Commander McGarrett and the work he’s done, he has no business claiming jurisdiction over NCIS lead cases just because he’s bored.”

“You know Commander McGarrett personally?” Tony questioned in lieu of responding to the rest of the statement.

“We met several times during his service.” Davenport said simply. “I know how strong willed he is- it’s one of the things that made him a good SEAL, a good soldier. It doesn’t help me now. You’ve dealt with Gibbs for years, if anyone can stand toe to toe with McGarrett and come out unbowed, it’s you. It helps that you'd be starting out on good terms with him already.”

“You couldn’t have predicted that I’d end up working with Five-O when this whole thing started.” Tony protested.

“No, of course not. That was happy consequence, and I couldn’t have planned it better if I wanted to. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re strong enough to stand against him. You know men like McGarrett, men like Gibbs. You know how to handle them. I need someone leading that team that can handle McGarrett and keep NCIS cases under NCIS jurisdiction. You can go back to sea, finish out your time afloat and then then make a smooth transition to Agent in Command DiNozzo of the MCRT, Peral Harbor branch. If you think you’re up for it, anyway.”

 

~*~ 

Tbc 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive the mistakes! This hasn't been proof read too carefully, but I'm running out of weekend and I didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer! I hope you enjoyed the chapter- one left to go! Thanks so much for reading!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter!!

It was almost 3:00 by the time Tony stepped back into NCIS, having been dropped off by SecNav’s car once they were done with their round of golf. Stan and his team were in the bullpen when he returned, and he made a brief detour to greet the man and the man’s team to accept well wishes and catch up briefly. The MCRT space was still empty when he made his way up the stairs and to MTAC. He still needed to give his official report to Five-O. It had been too early in Oahu when he’d been in earlier, but the time difference put them just after 10:00 am and so Tony figured they’d probably have someone available to take his statement over the secure video feed.

He ended up with three, though Chin and Kono remained more in the background after sending him an initial smile. “Agent DiNozzo.” Danny drawled, arms crossed over his stocky chest and his head cocked to the side. “Good to see you looking alive again.”

Tony smiled in response, “Good to feel alive again.” He replied, stopping himself from saying more considering their setting and audience. Any inappropriateness would undoubtedly make its way back to Vance and with so much on his mind he really didn’t feel like getting another lecture on ‘professionalism whilst acting as a representative of NCIS.’ He was already pushing it with his scruffier than normal appearance, and knew it had only gone unmentioned because he was still technically on medical leave.

“I hear you’re just waiting on my report to officially close the case.” He commented, tucking his hands loosely into the pockets of his leather jacket and shifting into a more comfortable stance as he mentally prepared himself to go back over the details the Task Force was still largely in the dark about.

The blond clearly read the resolve on his face and didn’t draw out the conversation further, instead leaning down to hit a few digital keys on the tabletop computer and then getting started. Tony walked him through the events that seemed to have taken place an age ago, and yet still felt as though he’d hardly blinked since it ended. He started at the dinner with Wo Fat and continued unfaltering until he was extracted from the yacht. 

Danny asked a few follow up questions that hadn’t been answered in the concise summary of events and then ended the recording he had begun. Official discussion over, the Detective changed the subject. “It is good to see you. You were looking pretty rough there at the end. How’re you doing?”

“I’m alright.” Tony replied honestly. “A little sore, but healing all the time.”

“We uh, sent you a package. You get it yet?”

The bark of laughter escaped before he could stop it and his hazel eyes twinkled in a surge of mirth. “A package? Yeah, it got here. Thanks.”

“No problem, just don’t forget to feed it.” Danny joked back.  

Tony laughed again, a bit quieter and more controlled. “Yeah, will do.” He promised. A motion off to the side of the room caught his eye and he glanced over to see the door open and admit the Director, who moved just far enough inside the door for it to close, arms crossed and dark eyes thoughtful as he observed. Knowing he needed to wrap up the call, he continued. “It was good working with you and your team, Detective. Take care of yourselves.”

“Back at’cha. See ya around.” Danny replied, Chin and Kono waving and nodding respectively from their positions in the background. The call disconnected a moment later and the screen resumed its idle state.

“Agent DiNozzo, a minute?” Vance questioned next, not waiting for him before he turned and headed back to his office.

Tony followed easily, nodding at a couple of people on his way out. They returned to the Directors office and the Agent took a seat across the desk when gestured to. The man didn’t speak immediately, but rather stepped his fingers and observed him thoughtfully.

“You wanted to talk to me, Director?” Tony questioned eventually, hoping he was finally going to get some official details on when he would be sent back out.

“How are you feeling, DiNozzo?” The man asked instead, much to Tony’s surprise.

“Ah, I’m feeling fine, Director. Thank you.” He managed to respond after the smallest pause. If the other man wasn’t so observant, the hesitation would have likely gone unnoticed.

If the other man wasn’t so observant, he wouldn’t be the director of a federal agency. His eyes flickered slightly, but he didn’t give his thoughts away. “Glad to hear it. You do seem to be exceptionally injury prone, don’t you?”

Tony felt himself bristle before he could consciously stop the inherent reaction. He wasn’t entirely sure which injuries the man’s dig was aimed at- perhaps all of them- For the had begun early in his life and continued on throughout it. His first injury had come from his childhood, when his father had drunkenly crashed his Mercedes into a powerline and broken his arm. The second occurred when one of his many stepmothers “accidentally” shut his hand in the door and broke three of his fingers. Two months later, his stepbrother pushed him out of a tree and caused him to break the wrist of his other arm.

He’d been sent to boarding school soon after and didn’t have another serious injury until he began playing high school level sports. He had a fair number of those types through college, which crested when Brad broke his leg in the championship game against Michigan, thereby removing any chance he had of making it to the NFL. That was a particularly tough one to swallow, but had led him into a path of law enforcement and an even wider range of injuries.

He forced his tense shoulders to relax and a smile to curl his lips. He knew it came across twisted and sharp, but then he often found himself feeling that way whenever he had these fun little sit-downs with the man. “So it seems.” He said shortly. “Luckily, I’ve always healed fast.” He knew he was likely jumping to mental conclusions- he doubted the other man had cared enough to dig deeply enough into his history to sniff out the sordid little details of his youth, let alone to be unprofessional enough to blatantly throw it in his face in this otherwise relatively laid back meeting. Still, logic didn’t make settling himself any easier.

“Hum,” The man grunted. “you’re not as young as you used to be, you won’t back bounce as fast.”

Tony was able to avoid tensing that time, but felt his eyebrow twitch the slightest bit regardless. “I’ll have to take your word for that, sir.” The no so subtle dig coming across loud and clear. He mentally shook himself after. What was he doing? Trying to prove that he was good and well? What, so he could go back to the ship all that much sooner? Still, he had a really hard time showing the other just how tired he was starting to feel.

The fairly late night, the early morning run, the second orgasm in just over seven hours (he _really_ wasn’t as young as he used to be), the walk to the Farmers Market, 18 holes of golf, and the mentally exhausting conversation he was currently having made him want to do little more than curl up on the couch with a favorite movie and snooze the rest of the afternoon away. He wondered if Steve would go for that, or if he was the type to be going all the time- working or not.

“Take my word for it? Heck, five years ago, a week after those injuries and you would have been back at your desk by now whether you’d been cleared or not. I’ve read your file.”

“Don’t really have a desk to get back to right now, sir.”

“No, I suppose you don’t.” Vance responded coolly. “Still, you’re looking rough. You sure you’re doing okay?”

Tony paused again, longer. “Aside from a few days of friendly torture, getting shot, and inhaled water attacking my lungs less than a week ago? I’m peachy.”

“Humm, well, ‘peachy’ or not, we’ve received orders from your physician requiring you to be on medical leave for a further two weeks. At the conclusion of those two weeks, you will fly out to rejoin the Seahawk at base in Yokosuka, Japan. Any questions?”

Tony blinked at the length of time but otherwise didn’t react. Any other time and in any other situation he would have vehemently denied the need for three weeks medical leave total from a relatively simple and almost completely resolved case of aspiration pneumonia. As it stood, he wasn’t in any hurry to return to sea- especially considering the much more interesting distraction waiting for him across town.

“No questions, Director.” He replied. “In that case- Am I free to go?”

Vance stared him down for several more seconds before he nodded curtly. “Free to ago.” He acknowledged verbally, eyes tracking him as he rose without another word. Tony pressed his lips more tightly together to prevent any other comments from escaping as he briskly departed. He jogged lightly back down the stairs and into the bullpen, which held the same scattering of people it had upon his ascent.

Unlike his journey in, he left the building quickly, face tilted away enough not to catch anyone’s direct attention. He made it to his car without further delay and paused briefly to text Steve and let him know he was on his way back before pulling out onto the road to head directly home. The journey passed in a blur and he was pulling into his designated parking space what seemed like only minutes later.

His body felt a hundred times heavier than it had when he’d settled into the comfortable seat, and it took a good amount of will power to make his way into the building. When he arrived at his door, he was surprised to walk into the delicious smells of fresh food sizzling away in his kitchen. “What’s all this?” He asked lightly, stepping into the well lit space.

Steve turned around, pausing just slightly to smile across the room at him before resuming his graceful prowl through Tony’s space with an unexpected confidence and familiarity that sent an aroused jolt up his spine. “Thought you might be hungry so I made an early dinner. Hope you don’t mind?”

“Not at all.” Tony reassured him, moving closer and stepping into the other mans space, forcing him to pause. He leaned in and pressed their lips together, the sensation one he hoped would become much more familiar in the days and weeks to come. Steve allowed himself to be distracted for far longer than Tony expected before he gently pushed him towards the stool nearby.

The NCIS agent moved without complaint, sinking onto the seat with long yearned for relief at knowing he could finally let his guard down and relax. He rested his head loosely on one fist and watched the other finish cooking and dishing up the meal that already had him hyper-salivating before ever even tasting it.  

A minute or so later, the SEAL set a plate down in front of him with a perfectly cooked and hearty steak, a side of seasoned lentils and rice, steamed green beans, and a small side salad with a surprising variety of vibrant colors. A beer had been an unexpected but welcome addition next to it. “Wow.” Tony stated appreciatively toward him as he took his own seat. “This looks amazing. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Steve replied easily with a lazy smile. “Besides, it’s all good for you. Your system could use the boost.”

“I’m not sure my doc would agree with you on a huge slab of red meat being a _healthy_ choice, but I’m definitely not arguing.” Tony teased back, starting in on the sides and leaving the meat for last.

“Protein’s just as important as the vitamins and minerals- especially when you’re healing.” Steve responded lightly, reaching out with a long leg to kick lightly against Tony’s shoe, earning a quick grin.

They fell into silence for several long minutes while they leisurely ate their delicious meal. It wasn’t until they were getting full and slowing down that they began talking again.

“So how did things go today?” Steve questioned causally after taking a swig of his own beer.

Tony had already considered how much he wanted to share with the other. While things between them looked more and more promising as time progressed, he still remained a wholly independent Federal Agent in his forties who’d never actually settled down or gotten married. He’d had more relationships than he cared to remember- some lasting days, one _almost_ making it to the alter- but the point being that he was experienced (i.e. _jaded_ ) enough to know that this big of a decision needed to be solely of his own making else he’d come to regret his decision when it inevitably fell apart.

“Pretty good, actually. I’ve got two weeks medical leave before I have to rejoin the ship in Japan.”

“Japan, huh?” Steve asked thoughtfully, tilting his head consideringly.  

“Yup?” Tony responded, though asking a question as much as he offered confirmation.

“Almost a straight shot over Hawai’i’.” He mussed, eyes searching his face.

“I suppose.”

“You know, I was thinking how much of a shame it was that you didn’t get to enjoy the island at all before you ended up back on the mainland.”

“Oh?” Tony asked, more intrigued at the direction things were turning.

“When was the last time you took a real vacation?” Steve asked in return.

Tony paused, trying to remember the last time he’d had time off when it hadn’t been injury related. Had it really been almost three years? He’d been slated to go on a trip with his Frat brothers the year before, but it had been canceled last minute and he’d instead spent his week off lurking around his apartment and feeling restless- not willing to return to work and deal with the junior agents taunts about his plans falling through as he knew would inevitably come.

When he failed to respond after a couple of moments, Steve continued. “I’d say too long? Why don’t you come back home with me? You can spend your two weeks getting some real R&R- nothing but sand and sunshine. And- in two weeks- you’ll already be half way to your ship, so you won’t have to spend a solid fifteen hours on a plane. What do you say?”

His mouth opened, but words failed him. Of course he’d thought about how nice it would have been to remain on Oahu after the job was done, but he hadn’t let himself linger on a passing fancy moving further into the past. He hadn’t really considered turning around and going _back_. But why not, really? He had the time, had little keeping him in the city. Rather the opposite, as it turned out. “I’d say.. That sounds pretty amazing, actually.” He finally responded almost cautiously. “You sure though?”

“A hundred percent.” Steve affirmed with a boyish grin. “Plus,” He continued more seriously. “I’m scheduled to go back to work in a week. I can push it back, but..”

“You don’t like leaving your team alone for that long?” Tony finished for him, already guessing the answer. Steve looked almost embarrassed at being called out, but shrugged it off.

“They’re Ohana.” He said simply.

Tony had already learned that particular term and smiled even as he felt a light, almost envious, tug in his chest. “They seem like a good group.” He replied honestly.

“They’re the best. And they like you- so bonus point for you.”

Tony laughed aloud, dimple forming as Steve had hoped to see. He only ever got to see it when the NCIS agent laughed or smiled truly and without reservation, and he found himself holding each of those moments closer. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“Didn’t say you need any help.” Steve said, voice deepening flirtatiously.

“No?”

“No.” The SEAL confirmed lowly, rising from his stool and moving around to loom over Tony’s still seated form. He leaned down slowing, locking their eyes before finally joining their lips. Tony’s right hand rose to run over the rough stubble pressing against his own, rose further to run along the regulation hair cut to grasp fruitlessly at the too short strands and having to settle for cupping the skull to him.

Steve turned him around on his own stool, wedging his hips forward to press between Tony’s knees and teasing at his senses. “So?” He rumbled lowly. “Wanna come to Hawai’i’ with me? Have a real vacation?”

Tony laughed again at his persistence even in the face of much more distracting activities. “Sure, okay, Hawaii sounds great. We’ll see what Brad says at my checkup tomorrow and if he gives me the clear to fly we can book tickets.”

“Deal.” Steve agreed before diving fully back into their kiss.

~*~

An hour later found the two men settled together on the couch, Steve laying behind Tony with his head propped up on a fist while Tony laid flat in front of him. His free arm had found it’s way across Tony’s waist and neither felt any need to complain at spending a quiet night watching a movie. Steve knew full well that Tony was slipping between being awake and asleep, but he didn’t mind in the least and even found himself holding the other man closer as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

He’d dipped back into sleep and seemed to be settling more heavily than he had before when a sudden racket split the air and caused Tony to surge suddenly to an upright position, spine tense and heavy eyes confused as his head tilted. He pushed himself off the couch with a sigh and began shuffling to the pounding still coming from his door, now accompanied by an excited woman’s voice. “Tony! Let me in! C’mon, Tony! I know you’re here-“

Tony unlocked and pulled open the door a second later, cutting the woman off mid-sentence. The words shifted into a squeal and she leapt at him in all her black lace clad glory, nearly equal to him in height with her tall platform boots. Tony caught her with a quiet grunt as her feet left the floor and her strong arms wrapped around his neck. “Hey Abbs.”

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me, mister!” She exclaimed, voice taking on an angry tone as she pushed back onto her own feet. Her arms crossed and she scowled at him. “You were at NCIS today, and you didn’t even come down to the lab! It’s been months!”

“I’m sorry Abby.” Tony soothed. “I ended up being pretty wiped by time I was done with Vance and I just wanted to call it a day. I was going to call you tomorrow.”

If anything her frown deepened. “You didn’t want to see me today?” She asked, sounding hurt. “But it’s been months.” She repeated.

Tony felt a small surge of annoyance. Normally these childish moments of hers didn’t bother him, but he really was exhausted and didn’t feel quite up to humoring her. “I did just get released from Bethesda yesterday.” He reminded her, his own tone becoming slightly tenser. “I’m supposed to be taking it easy and limiting my activity.” Any boy was he feeling it from ignoring that instruction as much as he had already.  “Plus, with as empty as the Bullpen was, I figured you were probably pretty busy running evidence.”

The sound of a shoe scuffing beyond the still open door drew Tony’s attention. He glanced over to see McGee standing awkwardly with a pizza box in his hands. The junior agent nodded at him. “Tony, welcome back Stateside.”

Tony grew even more tense, lips curling and eyes sharp. “Not really a welcome back. I’m not here for long.” He rebuffed. “Come in.” He finally allowed, closing the door once they’d both moved further into the apartment and then trailing them as they moved automatically into his living room.

It was almost amusing how they both froze in the same instant at spotting his other guest. Steve had sat himself up on the sofa and rose to his feet at their entrance. Tony ducked passed them and moved over to stand beside him. “Ahh, Steve, this is Abby Sciuto and Tim McGee- we work together at NCIS. Guys, this is Steve McGarrett.”

“Hey.” Steve offered easily with a small wave of his hand, the other two standing too far away to offer a hand shake.

McGee could be seen sizing up the larger man, doing a poor job hiding his attention. Abby, on the other hand, didn’t bother to hide her own interest in the least bit. “Hi Steve.” She drawled, tilting her head. “And how do you know Tony?” She questioned blatantly.

Tony sent her a sharp look but she ignored him in favor of keeping her dark eyes locked on the ones before her. Steve smiled at her blandly, face blanking the slightest bit though the shift happening naturally enough that neither newcomer noticed the difference. Steve glanced over at Tony. They hadn’t actually discussed how out they were going to be with Tony’s own coworkers, neither expecting to be confronted by them so soon. And- whilst Steve had a view of Abby during her and Tony’s brief video call, the reverse wasn’t true and so she didn’t have the same frame of reference that he did.

Tony waved him off and spoke up himself, deliberately sitting down to try and get some of the tension back out of the room, though he doubted he would regain his previous state of lethargy anytime soon. The other three followed suit after various pauses. “Steve and I met on the assignment I was on.” He explained simply, not offering more information outright but open sounding enough that they knew they could ask a bit more.

“That doesn’t explain why he’s here now though does it?” Abby replied, voice more cautious than it had been before at the realization that Tony could very well refuse to fill her in if he got too annoyed with her.

Tony glanced at the man quickly one more time to ensure he was okay with it and then said “He’s here because he wanted to make sure I healed up okay. We uh, we’re seeing each other.”

Abby looked surprised, but it was nothing compared to the blatant shock that overtook McGee at the announcement. “Oh!” Abby exclaimed looking over the fit man with new eyes, a hundred questions bubbling to light under the surface.

McGee unexpectedly started laughing, though it sounded forced and had an uncomfortable edge to it. Everyone’s attention focused on him and he slowly quieted back down as no one else joined in. “You can’t- You’re not gay!” He exclaimed defensively at the looks he was getting, crossing his arms.

“Uh yeah, no, I’m not.” Tony agreed, tilting his head, small flair of amusement hidden behind an air of befuddlement as he led the junior agent on. Steve picked up on the emotion and moved over to join him, sitting closer than he otherwise might have. Tony smiled, crossing his legs and resting a hand casually on the SEALs muscular thigh. “Obviously.”

Abby had settled and turned slightly to watch the show, letting her own emotions fall to the wayside. She had promised not to out him to anyone without his express permission years ago- else McGee would probably already of had a clue. Since he didn’t though, she didn’t see any harm in fully enjoying the moment.

McGee’s eyes bulged slightly and he sifted as though he weren’t quite sure of the correct response. His eyes kept darting back and forth between Tony’s face, his intimately placed hand and Steve himself. “Oh.” He finally uttered quietly, shuffling half a step back.

Tony’s amusement dropped slightly as his eyes followed, suddenly losing interest in his game. “Relax McGee.” He commanded more bitingly. “I’m bi. Not all that life changing.”

“..Oh.” He stuttered again.

If Tony hadn’t been looking forward to going back to Hawaii before, he was suddenly a lot more eager. The reaction wasn’t nearly as extreme as it could have been, but the Probies body language spoke on his behalf well enough all on its own without the need for further words.

Abby finally sensed how uncomfortable of a turn things had taken and stepped up to try and get the conversation rolling. Tony felt his mind wandering as his former tiredness once again began to seep to the forefront.

He was home, but it didn’t feel as amazing as he pictured it being over the past few months. Rather, he found himself yearning for the warm sun and gentle crash of waves that was always in the background. He glanced to his side, Steve turning to meet his gaze with a small amount of concern. He could picture it clearly- the two of them still as sitting as close together ten, twenty years down the line, both sun darkened and fit from their active lifestyles.

Only, when he pictured sitting on the beach near a bonfire with their friends and family around them, it wasn’t his DC team he say in his minds eye- it was Steves and the men and woman an entire continent and ocean away. He thought back to the offer he’d been give- to run his own team on the island, knew he need only finish his time afloat and then that it would be possible if he only let himself go for it.

Tony smiled with a small and private curl of his lips at the realization that it suddenly didn’t seem so impossible, so out of reach.

He was _almost_ excited to go back to sea, if only because he knew that each passing moment would be one moment closer to his next great adventure. Without caring for McGee’s sensibilities, Tony let his smile broaden before he leaned slightly forward and pressed his lips to the SEALs.

He was **almost** excited. He fully planned to enjoy the next two weeks first.

 ~*~End ~*~

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am such a terrible author to leave you all hanging for five months. My new job is wonderful, but so unbelievably time consuming that I find myself working before work, after I get home, and over the weekend. Unfortunately, it doesn't leave me much time for creativity of writing. Besides work, I actually ended up absolutely hating the first two half-drafts of this chapter. I found myself writing it out as more of a summary than a chapter, and that wasn't what I was looking for. I'm still not entirely happy with this, but I couldn't keep you all waiting for another five months for me to get it together. Please note that this chapter is not beta'd, but I will do so as soon as I can. I may come back and post an epilogue in the future, but for now I will consider this story to be complete. 
> 
> My plan is still do post the epilogue for my Jack O'Neill/Tony DiNozzo fic, 'A Chance Meeting,' and then to resume work on 'Under Suspicion." Sadly, I have no idea when I will get the chance to write again and so no idea when I might post again. Thank you all so much for sticking it out with me! You have no idea how much I value your Kudos and comments. I hope you've enjoyed!!


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